Russia’s car market is not immune to economic sanctions imposed by the US and EU, with sales plunging by 20 percent in September following a 26 percent drop in August.
Russian buyers delay making large purchases as Russia’s economy is hit by western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine. Sales declined to 197,233 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in September, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB) lobby group cited by AutoNews Europe. In the first nine months of the year, sales were down 13 percent to 1.78 million.
AEB forecasts full-year volume to be down 12 percent to 2.45 million as the government has recently introduced a scrappage scheme that may help slow down the decline.
Most major automakers saw their sales drop significantly last month. Sales of Russia’s biggest auto group, AvtoVAZ-Renault-Nissan, fell 11 percent in September, while Volkswagen Group, the No. 2 auto group, saw its sales down 24 percent.
Third-placed Hyundai also fell 10 percent, while Toyota Group, the fourth best-selling automaker in Russia, sold 1 percent fewer cars. Sales of Kia, the fifth biggest automaker in Russia, dropped 19.5 percent.
US carmakers were badly hit as well, with General Motors’ sales dropping 43 percent, with Ford seeing a 35 percent sales decline. Mercedes-Benz was among a small number of brands that managed to post sales increases, with a 13 percent rise last month.
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