Page 95 - RusRPTMay19

9.1.2 Automotive sector news
From 2017 to 2018, motor vehicle production increased by 13.3%,
according to Statistics Finland. A total of 1.8mn passenger cars, buses and trucks were produced last year and 0.3mn were imported. There are about 50mn cars in Russia in total. In recent years, production has gradually recovered from the downturn that began in 2014, but during the winter growth has not continued as vigorously. During the last three decades, the position of foreign brands in the Russian vehicle market has varied. Since the 1990s, domestic production has declined, and in 2008, more than half of the new market launch came from abroad. After that, however, the share of domestic production has returned to foreign companies moving cars to Russia. Often the Russian party has also been involved in factory projects. In particular, AvtoVAZ, which manufactures Lada, has maintained a significant market position through such joint projects. The popularity of the German, American, Japanese and Korean brands has been preserved, but today more than four out of five new offerings come from domestic factories. In recent years, however, foreign companies have been pushing down some production lines as a result of the domestic market. Last March, FordSollers, a joint venture between American Ford and Russian Sollers, formerly Severstal-Avto, announced that it will close down passenger car production and focus on other
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