According to the Association of European Businesses (AEB) statistics, the sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia during January-August 2020 declined by 16.9% year-on-year making 880.2 thousand units.
In August, the sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles were down 0.5% year-on-year and down 3.1% month-on-month to make 137.5 thousand units.
“After volatile market developments since the beginning of the year, the signs of recovery during last month seem to be over already with a flat new vehicle sales in August of -0,5% versus previous year. Traditionally, this summer month is not a very active one, but further weakening Ruble could have stimulated a continuation of growth. Nevertheless, the decrease of 16,9% YoY August is still better than AEB 2020 forecast of -23,9%. With the state support measures September will provide a more clear indication on the situation of the Russian automotive market and its development toward the year-end,” Thomas Staertzel, Chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee, commented.
Lada remained the leader of the Russian car market in August with its sales down 4.6% year-on-year to 28.6 thousand units.
KIA continues to rate the second with its sales amounting to 19.8 thousand cars, up 19.8% year-on-year.
Hyundai remains the third with its sales up 24.2% year-on-year to 17.5 thousand cars.
Volkswagen rankd the fourth, its sales grew by 33.7% up to 11.4 thousand units.
Renault saw its sales decline by 15.8% year-on-year down to 10.9 thousand units and was the fifth.
Among the car brands that demonstrated the most spectacular growth in August were Changan (up 3.3-fold), Chery (up 2.5-fold), Geely (up 2.4-fold), FAW (up 2.2-fold), and Brilliance (up 2-fold).
The brands that saw their sales decline the most were Ford (-99%), Chevrolet (-98%), Zotye (-61%), and Iveco commercial vehicles (-59%).