Mercedes pulls out of Russia over Ukrainian invasion

Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Mercedes Benz this week joined a handful of other automakers in pulling out of the Russian market because of its invasion of Ukraine in February.

Harald Wilhem, chief financial officer of Mercedes, said the move out of Russia was not expected to have any serious new effect on the company's profits. Nissan, Toyota, Renault, Jaguar Land Rover, General Motors, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce, all stopped deliveries to the country.

"Final completion of the transaction is subject to the authority's approval and the implementation of contractually agreed conditions," Wilhem said as the company presented its third-quarter financial results.

Nissan took a $700 million loss after turning over its business to a Russian state-owned company.

Other companies like Starbucks, McDonald's and Coca-Cola had pulled out of Russia as well.

"The main priorities in agreeing the terms of the transaction were to maximize the fulfillment of obligations to clients from Russia both in terms of after-sales services and financial services, as well as preserving jobs of employees at the Russian divisions of the company," said Mercedes-Benz Russia CEO Natalia Koroleva said.

Mercedes-Benz has sold more than 9,500 vehicles in Russia from January to September, according to the Association of European Business.