The Russian Car Market Began The Year With A Drop In Sales

2023 Author: Natalie MacDonald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 02:36

According to the Association of European Businesses (AEB), in January 2021, 95,213 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in Russia, which is 4.2% less than a year earlier (minus 4,156 units).

Thomas Stärzel, Chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee

“The New Year traditionally began with low sales. In January 2021, new car sales were down 4.2% from the same period last year. After three months of significant growth since December 2020, the market is gradually shrinking. We continue to expect sales to grow in February and March, reaching the same level as last year in the first quarter. The top five selling brands are showing relative stability. Some brands are showing significant growth. It should be noted that for the first time, brands from China are at the top of the ranking."

About brands

Sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia in January 2021/2020

The * marks the brands whose sales take into account the total sales of cars and light commercial vehicles

The Lad brand repeated last year's result, but at the same time it was one and a half times ahead of the closest pursuer - the Kia company. The Korean brand, in turn, managed to grow its audience a little, largely thanks to the most popular model - the Rio family. Both manufacturers increased their share in the Russian market: Lad- up to 23% (plus 1 point), Ki- up to 15.8% (plus 0.8 points). Hyundai closes the top three with a slight drop, its share remaining at the level of 11.5%.

However, it is worth noting here that the sales of the LadNiva SUV, which was previously offered under the Chevrolet brand, in January 2020 were considered separately from the total sales of AvtoVAZ - taking this into account, the demand for Lada in January sank by 5%. The share of the brand was also 0.2% higher a year earlier than it is now.

The best growth was marked by the Chery brand: 4.5 times. Nissan and UAZ sagged more than others: demand fell by a third.

Three representatives of the Chinese car industry got into the top 20 most popular brands at once: the new leader - Chery, Haval (sales were 22% lower than Chery), and Geely, the demand for which sank by more than a quarter. In total, sales of Chinese cars exceeded 4.6 thousand units, which is 52% more than in January 2020.

Cars of Japanese brands were chosen by 14 thousand people - minus 23%. Premium brands (excluding BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mini and Smart) were sold 26% better, almost 3.2 thousand cars were sold.

About model

The year began with a bestseller change. In January, it was KiRio, which was successfully updated at the end of 2020. Demand for the Korean model grew by 24%, while LadGrant and Vest lost 9% and 15.4% of customers, respectively.

The fourth and fifth places were taken by Hyundai Cret and Solaris. The demand for both models intensified: plus 2.1% and plus 6%, respectively.

The best growth in the top 25 was noted by LadNiva, which was recently renamed NivTravel: demand for an SUV rose by 135%. In anticipation of the renewal, Renault Duster unexpectedly showed good sales (plus 63%). Nissan X-Trail failed the most (minus 47%).

SkodRapid sales rose 13.4%, but KiK5 dropped 8% versus its predecessor KiOptima. Nevertheless, the Korean sedan was 9% ahead of ToyotCamry, whose sales, in turn, fell by a third.

KiK5 and KiSeltos hit the top on January 25, ahead of popular models such as Nissan Qashqai or ToyotCamry, LadNivTravel and Xray. Sales of the latter grew for the first time in a year, and immediately by 28%. KiCerato and Optima, Lad4x4, now called NivLegend, and SkodOctavi dropped out of the rating (the model changed generations, but mass sales have not yet begun).