(Reuters) – Sales of new passenger cars in Russia plummeted by 24.9% year-on-year in February, marking the first decline in monthly sales since April 2023, Russian analytical agency Autostat said on Thursday.
Before February, sales had been growing in year-on-year terms for 22 consecutive months, recovering after a market collapse in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine and the exit of Western carmakers such as Renault and Volkswagen.
Growth started stalling towards the end of last year and Autostat expects the Russian car market to decline by between 10% and 20% in 2025.
The Association of European Businesses forecasts a 15% drop due to high interest rates and sanctions.
Chinese carmakers have grabbed more than half of Russia’s car market in terms of sales from a less than 10% share before the war.
Chinese brands dominate the top 10 in Russia, apart from the runaway market leader, Russia’s largest carmaker Avtovaz, which sold 24,573 vehicles in February, down 14.3% year on year.
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; editing by Alexander Marrow and Mark Heinrich)
