Page 82 - RusRPTOct19

9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Russia's car and LCV sales declined 1.3% y/y to 145,545 units in August, so 8mo19 sales fell 2.3% to 1.1mn, according to the latest data by the Association of European Businesses (AEB).
The rate of decline continued to moderate from previous months, which we partly attribute to government support for the industry increasing from July. The market could end up flat to slightly positive, depending on how efficient the government support is in stimulating demand in the remaining months of the year, VTB Capital (VTBC) said in a note.
“We also highlight the strong sales of the Ford Transit, which Sollers has consolidated from July, over the past couple of months,” VTBC said.
Ford Sollers, a joint venture of Ford car major and car assembler Sollers, said it would stop the production of Ford-branded cars in Russia and downsize its staff on March 27. Ford will also stop importing its vehicles to Russia. Sollers took over the joint venture and has been restructuring its business since then.
The car market has been struggling to recover this year. It put in some growth
82 RUSSIA Country Report October 2019 ww.intellinews.com