The Russian car market is continuing to decline sharply in the face of Russia's sharp economic recession. Sales of new passenger cars and LCVs in Russia decreased by 28.6 % in September 2015 to 140,867 units, according to data released by the Moscow-based AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee.
Over the course of the first nine months of the year, light vehicle sales in Russia totalled 1,192,723 units cars were sold, some 33% down on the same period of 2014.
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Joerg Schreiber, Chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee was downbeat in his comments. “September did not do much to improve the year-to-date performance of the market, or the outlook on the remaining 3 months of the year. According to a recent poll of our members, the full-year forecast for 2015 remains practically unchanged at a level of 1.57m sales of PC and LCV, or 37% less compared to 2014”.
Russia's economy is forecast by the IMF to contract by 3.8% in 2015.
Market leader Lada was down by a hefty 41% in September at 21,658 units sold. While most manufacturers saw declines in the month, Kia was among the few to see an increase (+11% to just over 16,000 units, which also took it above sister brand Hyundai to the number 2 spot in the market for the first nine months – at 119,738 units sold.
