Car sales in Russia show no immediate signs of recovery 12 months after the country invaded Ukraine.
The Association of European Businesses (AEB) has revealed that a total of 32,499 vehicles were sold in Russia throughout January. That is a 63.1 per cent decline from the 91,662 vehicles that were sold across the country in January last year, just prior to the invasion. This follows a trend from last year when car sales for the entire year collapsed by 58.8 per cent.
Russia’s automotive industry has been crippled by Western sanctions over the past 12 months. The AEB says that car sales will recover by just 12 per cent this year, Reuters reports.
Read: Chinese Cars Now Account For Over 30% Of New Sales In Russia
A total of 450,000 passenger cars were built in Russia last year. That represents a 67 per cent decline from 2021 and was the lowest figure since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Of course, it’s not just Western sanctions and the fact that many global automakers have completely left the Russia market that have contributed to the decline in sales. Wages across the country have also fallen, pushing down consumer demand for expensive items such as cars.
While the Russian car industry as a whole continues to struggle, Chinese automakers are doing better than ever in the country. Indeed, in January 2022, Chinese brands had a 9.6 per cent share of Russia’s car market but by the end of November, that had risen to 31.3 per cent.
For Russians looking to pick up some new wheels, locally-made vehicles suit those with budgets of around 1.5 million roubles ($21,090), while vehicles from China are more suited to buyers looking to spend in excess of 2.5 million roubles ($35,150).
