According to the Association of European Businesses (AEB) statistics, the sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia during January 2021 declined by 4.2% year-on-year and by 42.9% month-on-month to make 95.2 thousand units.
“The New Year starts typically with a small sales volume month. In January 2021 new vehicle sales slightly decreased by 4,2% vs. same month of previous year. After three months of top growth, since December 2020 the market has been slightly decreasing. We still expect that with stronger February and March sales the first quarter will be on the level of previous year. Five top selling brands are showing relative stability. Interesting is the strong growth of some brands and that for the first time Chinese brands are positioned in the top of the table,” Thomas Staertzel, Chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee, commented.
Lada remained the leader of the Russian car market in January with its sales up 0.3% year-on-year and down 46.4% month-on-month to 21.9 thousand units.
KIA continues to rate the second with its sales amounting to 15.1 thousand cars, up 0.5% year-on-year and down 24.8% month-on-month.
Hyundai remains the third with its sales down 3.9% year-on-year and down 33.1% month-on-month to 10.9 thousand cars.
Renault ranked the fourth, its sales grew by 5% year-on-year and declined by 29.7% month-on-month to 8.5 thousand units.
Škoda is the fifth with its sales up 1.5% month-on-month and down 37.8% month-on-month to some 6 thousand units.
Among the car brands that demonstrated the most spectacular growth in January 2021 were Opel (up 28-fold), Chery (up 4.6-fold), Foton commercial vehicles (up 2.7-fold), Ford commercial vehicles (up 2.6-fold), and Iveco commercial vehicles (up 2-fold).
The brands that saw their sales decline the most were Ford (down 93%), Zotye (down 75%), Isuzu commercial vehicles (down 59%), and Chevrolet (down 54%).