trend

After 2009, when truck production fell by 62.1% compared to 2008, the Russian commercial vehicle market recovered surprisingly quickly last year. Moreover, if you believe the data of ASM Holding OJSC, in 2011 Russia took second place in Europe in terms of sales of new commercial vehicles, including LCVs and buses (372,990 units), after France (482,823), leaving Germany behind (334,822) and Great Britain (306,488).

Last year, the Russian commercial vehicle market grew by a record 51.3% compared to 2010 levels. However, even such impressive dynamics have not yet made it possible to not only exceed, but even equal the results of pre-crisis 2008, when sales of trucks alone amounted to 430.3 thousand units.

Against the backdrop of a dramatic market recovery (sales growth was recorded in all its segments), the share of post-Soviet manufacturers continues to decline. If in 2009 it was 62.2%, then in 2010 it was already 58.9%, and last year it decreased by another 9.1%. Sales of Russian foreign cars increased by 56.4% (from 13.64 thousand to 21.34 thousand). However, their market share is still insignificant 6.4%. The fastest growing segment was the import of new trucks, which more than doubled - to 129.2 thousand vehicles with an increase in market share to 38.9%. The remaining 4.9% of the market pie was taken by imported used cars, sales of which increased 1.4 times - to 16.12 thousand.

In the production structure, a total of 203,331 trucks including LCVs were produced in the Russian Federation in 2011, vehicles with a gross weight of up to 3.5 tons dominate, accounting for 56.2%. The best seller here for a year in a row is the GAZ-3302 Gazelle flatbed truck, which was distributed in 2011 in the amount of 57,817 copies (28.4% of the total production volume!). Cars with a gross weight of 3.5 to 12 tons occupy 11.7% of output, and the share of trucks with a gross weight of 12 tons and above accounts for 31.5%. If the GAZ group dominates in the segments of light and medium-tonnage trucks, then in the heavy weight category KamAZ is the undoubted leader. In 2011, the Naberezhnye Chelny plant produced 45,189 trucks, 40.5% more than in 2010 (of which about 39,000 were sold on the Russian market, the rest were exported). Its share in the segment of trucks with a gross weight of 14-40 tons was, according to various estimates, 37-41%.

In the segment of heavy foreign cars, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB), MAN took first place in terms of sales volumes (7,169 units). It is followed by Scania (6792) and Volvo (5223, according to Volvo Vostok JSC). Moreover, for Scania, Russia last year became the second largest sales market: the Swedish company managed to import 1,215 more cars here than even in the prosperous 2008. Noteworthy is the fact that MAN, the leader for the second year in a row, does not yet have an assembly plant in the Russian Federation (it is planned to launch it in the first half of the year), unlike its closest pursuers. Obviously, the presence of a Russian VIN and a theoretically more attractive price due to the absence of import duties (25% on new trucks, with the exception of long-haul truck tractors of the Euro-4 level and higher, for which the duty is 5%) does not yet provide advantages. In fact, “truck” factories of foreign manufacturers do not have the status of an industrial assembly regime (with the exception of Mercedes-Benz Trucks Vostok and Fuso KamAZ Trucks Rus, joint ventures of Daimler AG and KamAZ) and are forced to pay duties for the import of components, which, Naturally, it is included in the price. In addition, they are still in the return on investment mode and are forced to recoup the funds invested in the creation of assembly enterprises, including at the expense of the cost of finished products.

These investments, by the way, are different for everyone: Volvo spent the most on the plant in Kaluga (approximately €100 million), the rest spent several times less. This probably partly explains the fact that in the total sales volume of Volvo trucks (5,283 units, taking into account a small number of medium-duty FLs), vehicles assembled in Kaluga prevail (3,748, or 71%). For Scania, the share of St. Petersburg-assembled trucks is only 16.1% (the difference between AEB sales data and ASM holding production statistics).

The “Chinese” reminded themselves again. The import of trucks from the Middle Kingdom has noticeably increased. Shaanxi, for example, took fourth place in terms of sales of new foreign cars (3,319), displacing Mercedes-Benz Trucks Vostok LLC (2,703, of which 1,188 were assembled in Chelny).

In the segment of used heavy trucks, the leader was DAF, which, by the way, was in fourth place in terms of sales of new and used equipment after MAN, Volvo and Scania. In average tonnage, according to the AEB, Hyundai dominates (5239 units), noticeably ahead of the following Hino (1105) and Mitsubishi Fuso (1088). But Isuzu, having stopped assembly in Yelabuga, slipped from second place in 2010 (2272 units) to fourth in 2011 (901).

In the LCV sector, Peugeot was the leader, selling a total of 13,979 Partner and Boxer models (including utility versions). Volkswagen is breathing in its back with a much wider model line (12,345), including the Amarok pickup. By the way, for a market newcomer it sold quite well - 1,743 units against, for example, the old-timer Ford Ranger of the previous generation (732). And the leader among pickup trucks, and by a wide margin, as always, is the Mitsubishi L200 (7036 units). The third number on the pedestal of foreign LCVs is Ford (8864), the basis of sales of which is the Transit (7363). By the way, this year it is planned to assemble the Ford light-duty van in partnership with Sollers in Yelabuga instead of the previous generation Fiat Ducato. Forecasts for the commercial vehicle market in 2012 do not look so optimistic. According to ASM Holding specialists, if the market grows, it will be very little, and will be fixed at around 340-350 thousand. There are at least two reasons for this: the unprecedentedly large import of new trucks in 2011, as well as Russia’s accession to the WTO. Due to the latter reason, a further decline in the share of domestic brands is predicted. As for production volumes, they are estimated at approximately 180-200 thousand cars, of which 45-50 thousand will be foreign cars assembled in Russia.

Alexander Solntsev, editor-in-chief of Comtrans magazine

Post-crisis breakthrough