According to the Association of European Businesses (AEB) statistics, the sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia in January 2019 grew be mere 0.6% year-on-year amounting to 10.31 thousand mn units. Compared to December 2018, the sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles dropped by 41.2%.
“Automotive sales stayed above 100 000 in January with a minor growth of 0.6% compared to the same month last year. This is a positive outcome, especially considering the 2% increase in VAT implemented by January 1st”, commented Joerg Schreiber, Chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee.
Lada remained the leader of the Russian car market in January with its sales growing 2.5% year-on-year but sinking 39.2% month-on-month to make 21.5 thousand units.
KIA continues to rate the second with its sales up 2.5% year-on-year and down 13.2% month-on-month to 15.7 thousand cars.
Hyundai remains the third expanding its sales by 23.9% year-on-year and loosing 28.1% month-on-month, the result being 10.8 thousand cars.
Renault forced Toyota out of the Top-5 in January with its sales decreasing by 1% year-on-year and by 46.4% month-on-month down to 7.8 thousand units.
Volkswagen rated the fifth, its sales increased by 10.9% month-on-month and dropped by 44.5% month-on-month to 6.2 thousand units.
Among the car brands that demonstrated the most spectacular growth in January were Genesis (up 3.8-fold), Geely (up 3.3-fold), Jeep (up 2.3-fold) и Volvo (up 2.1-fold).
The brands that saw their sales decline the most were SsangYong (-93%), Chrysler (-80%), Iveco commercial vehicles (-70%), Foton commercial vehicles (-70%), Changan (-65%), smart (-64%) and HTM (-50%).