Car sales in Russia plummeted by 58.8 percent last year in the midst of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions and export controls imposed on the country.
A total of 687,370 vehicles were sold throughout Russia last year, down from the more than 1.6 million that were delivered in 2021, and while these figures don’t include sales from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Chery, they do show just how much the local market is struggling.
Most large Western car manufacturers with a presence in Russia have completely exited the market, including Renault which once had a 29 percent share of the total new car market in Russia. A number of local Russian car manufacturers were also forced to pause production at points during 2022 due to parts shortages. These included Avtovaz which was briefly selling Lada models without airbags and ABS because of a lack of parts.
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“The issues with sanctions and unprecedented pressure on the Russian market on all fronts, of course, could not but affect the automotive industry,” the head of the Association of European Businesses automobile committee Alexey Kalitsev told Yahoo.
Kalitsev added that car prices have jumped significantly in Russia and that this too has contributed to the dramatic reduction in sales.
For as trying as 2022 proved to be, Russia’s car market is expected to at least partially bounce back in 2023. The Association of European Businesses suggests that retail sales could climb by 12 percent this year to approximately 770,000 vehicles. Kalitsev also said that 5-7 new car brands could enter the Russian market throughout the year.
“With a favorable combination of circumstances… growth above 12% is also possible. But no one in the world can predict anything in the current situation,” he said.
