New car sales results summed up

Yekaterinburg was among the top five Russian cities in terms of sales of new passenger cars at the end of 2011. As follows from the report of the analytical agency "Auto-Dealer-Ekaterinburg", the growth was 60%, ahead of the all-Russian rate, estimated at 39%. However, experts believe that growth will be insignificant in 2012 due to the fact that the car market has reached saturation.

Yesterday, the analytical agency Auto-Dealer-Ekaterinburg published a report for 2011, according to which 85 thousand new passenger cars were sold in Yekaterinburg, which is 60% (31.7 thousand cars) more than in 2010. “Ekaterinburg has become the fifth city in Russia in terms of sales volume after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara and Kazan,” notes Mikhail Chaplygin, director of Auto-Dealer-Ekaterinburg. In terms of sales growth dynamics, the expert notes, Ekaterinburg is significantly ahead of the federal market. According to the Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the Association of European Businesses, this figure was 39%.

Lada remains the sales leader in the Yekaterinburg market, but its performance is declining. In particular, in December the growth rate was negative - minus 2%. “At the end of the year, Lada has the worst dynamics among the top 15 brands in the city. However, it is Lada sales that allow Samara and Kazan to outpace Yekaterinburg in sales figures - in the city on the Volga Lada occupies 70% of the market, and in the capital of Tatarstan about 50%,” notes Mr. Chaplygin. For the second year in a row, Chevrolet remains the leader among foreign brands. At the same time, significant changes occurred in the top ten. Compared to 2010, Volkswagen (from 3.4% to 5.4%), KIA (4.9% versus 3.1%) and Nissan (from 3.64% to 4.94%) significantly increased their share.

Ekaterinburg dealers also note high sales dynamics. According to the leading specialist of the Avatime sales department, Dmitry Shireev (brands Renault, Citroen, Fiat), last year the company was able to reach pre-crisis volumes. Elena Abramova, head of the Lucky Motors Nissan sales department, also considers 2011 a successful year. “Compared to 2010, sales increased by about 40%,” she noted.

According to experts, the significant growth rates of the Yekaterinburg car market are quite natural. “The Yekaterinburg market fell more strongly than in Russia as a whole during the crisis, so now it is growing more dynamically, thereby recouping pent-up demand,” notes Mikhail Chaplygin. However, experts are inclined to believe that the “low base” effect, due to which the Urals showed record growth rates, has already been achieved. “So we shouldn’t expect a sharp jump in 2012. Most likely, sales will remain at the same level as in 2011, or will undergo a slight fluctuation of plus or minus 5%,” notes Andrey Toptun, head of the analytics department of the Avtostat agency. According to experts, one of the interesting trends in 2012 will be the development of the SUV and crossover segment. “The Renault Duster just appeared in this segment, and in addition, Chinese manufacturers, in particular the Great Wall company, are also gaining popularity,” the expert concludes.

Igor Lesovskikh, Alexandra Prytkova

Yekaterinburg will slow down