Car sales in Russia fell by 5.7% in March and by 2.8% yoy in the first quarter, the AEB said today. The association associates the March result with the base effect, but also points to a shortage of individual models and rising prices.

According to the AEB, 148,676 vehicles were sold in Russia in March and 387,332 in the quarter. Automobile Manufacturers Committee Chairman Thomas Stärzel pointed out that sales in March 2020 were abnormally high before the April lockdown. He expects the situation to improve in the coming months, but acknowledges the decline in demand, especially in the mass segment, as prices rise and the negative effect of higher scrap fees.

Only AvtoVAZ (+3%), KIA (+1%) and China's Haval showed growth in the top ten in March in terms of sales. Haval sales grew by 77% at once, the company entered the top ten for the first time.
Sales of Toyota, Renault and Nissan fell the most, while Skoda and Hyindai practically retained them.
The Russian top three sales models remained the same: Lada Granta, Lada Vesta and Kia Rio.

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The result of the Russian market according to AEB in March almost coincided with the calculations of Kommersant - minus 6%. The publication points out the shortage associated with the global crisis in the supply of automotive chips, and lower demand due to higher prices, as the main reasons. Some market participants expect April results to be even worse.

Car sales fell 5.7% in March

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