Russians Do Not Refuse To Buy Premium Cars, Despite The Coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic and the self-isolation regime provoked a crisis in the Russian automotive market: many car dealerships have suspended work or switched to online sales, and buyers have postponed planned acquisitions until better times. As a result, in April, the first month of self-isolation in the country, sales fell 3.5 times compared to April 2019.

Nevertheless, the desire to buy a car has not gone anywhere. As the restrictions on trade eased, first regional car dealers, and later retailers in Moscow and the Moscow region, noted an interest in the implementation of deferred demand. The decline slowed in May, with 52% fewer new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles sold than last year.

Analysts of Avto.ru found out how the structure of demand for cars of different brands has changed during the self-isolation regime, and compared the statistics of ad views on Avto.ru in May with those in March.

"Economy" - inexpensive mass cars, representatives of "A", "B" and "B +", as well as some models of Chinese brands, including crossovers.

"Middle» the segment includes cars "C", "D" and "E" classes, inexpensive crossovers, pickups and minivans.

"Premium" - expensive car brands, such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, as well as luxury ones - Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce.

A noticeable drop in demand for mass-market cars (economy plus average) can be considered expected. Representatives of dealers in conversations with Avto.ru say that during the crisis, expensive purchases are more often postponed by those who choose a budget or medium-priced car.

Buyers of premium cars have more options to make their planned purchase. Including in order to have time to buy a car at the current price list, before the prices for new cars rise or the average market price on the secondary market is revised.

How self-isolation affected consumer interest in different brands

About used cars

The number of views of advertisements for the sale of used cars in May decreased by 11% compared to March. The growth in the number of views was recorded for only two brands - Bentley and Porsche. Mini stagnated.

Another 10 premium brands kept the decline within 10%. But overall, views of ads with premium cars declined slightly - by only 4%.

Interest in mass-market models declined more - by 11% compared to March. Daewoo brand retained demand: the decline was only 2%. Another seven brands have lost 6-10% of consumer interest, including the Lada brand. And most of all, the number of views fell on Chinese cars: Brilliance (minus 35%), Changan and Geely (minus 25% each).

About new cars

In the new car market, the situation is similar: the demand for premium brands has fallen less than for mass models. Total ad views dropped by 9%.

Among the premium brands, 7 brands have become even more popular than in March. The best result is for Audi: plus 30 percent. The Mini and Porsche audience has expanded by almost a quarter. And the worst figures are for fairly inexpensive by the standards of the Genesis segment: minus 43%. On average, cars of premium brands were considered for purchase in May only 1% less often than in March.

In the mass market, the best result is Suzuki's stagnation. The audience of several more brands decreased within 5% - these are Skod and Peugeot. The strongest drop among the most popular brands was in Kia: minus 33%. On average, the number of views in the mass segment fell by 21%.