According to the Association of European Businesses (AEB) statistics, the sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia in January-September 2019 declined by 2% year-on-year making 1.27 mn units. In September, the sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles were down slightly by 0.2% year-on-year to 157.1 thousand.
“Market sales in September were flat against the level achieved in the same month last year – not a bad result looking at the negative track record in recent months. Cumulative sales in the January-September period however stand at (2%) down year-on-year. With 3 months to go in the current year, the AMC expects a full-year sales result of 1.76 million units, reflecting the same slightly negative trend towards year end”, commented Joerg Schreiber, Chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee.
He continued, “The uncertain element here is the possibility of another significant increase of the utilization fee in 2020 as reportedly being discussed by the government. Should such a decision be adopted indeed, it would add another question mark to the long-term prospects of the Russian car market as whole. Short-term however, sales of imported cars might receive an artificial boost – of course at the cost of sales in the following period.”
Lada remained the leader of the Russian car market in September with its sales increasing 1.1% year-on-year up to 31.5 thousand units.
KIA continues to rate the second with its sales amounting to 19.2 thousand cars, up 1.5% year-on-year.
Hyundai remains the third, its sales declined by 0.3% down to 16.1 thousand cars.
Renault saw its sales grow by 28.2% year-on-year up to 13.3 thousand units.
Toyota rates the fifth, its sales increased by 16.3% up to 9.4 thousand units.
Among the car brands that demonstrated the most spectacular growth in September were Haval (up 5.5-fold), Hyundai commercial vehicles (up 3.6-fold), Brilliance (up 3.2-fold), FIAT commercial vehicles (up 2.9-fold), Geely (up 2.2-fold), Changan (up 2.2-fold) and smart (up 2-fold).
The brands that saw their sales decline the most were Ford (-90%), Chrysler (-89%), HTM (-85%), Lifan (-82%), Zotye (-75%), Honda (-71%) and Foton commercial vehicles (-58%).