TURIN - A Stellantis van plant in Russia will have to close shortly as it is running out of parts, the company's chief executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday.

The company has previously said it had suspended all exports and imports of vehicles with Russia, where it operates a van-making plant in the city of Kaluga, in partnership with Mitsubishi.

Production in Kaluga remains for the local market at the moment, following last month's Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at a news conference, Tavares did not say whether the company was considering a writedown of the value of Kaluga or feared it could be seized by Moscow if operations halted.

Addressing a supply crisis that has hurt the car industry, Tavares said Stellantis expected to be able to source computer chips from Europe and the United States within 3-4 years.

"We will have to find another way to adapt the supply chain, we have several initiatives to create local sourcing of semiconductors," added Tavares, the head of a company whose brands include Fiat and Peugeot.

Tavares said carmakers needed to cut the costs of electric vehicles over the next 4-5 years and called on governments to help with the effort.

  - Reuters