Page 133 - RusRPTOct22

9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Sales of cars in Russia increased by 20% in August compared with July to over 54,000 units, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Albert Karimov said on Tuesday.
"Sales of cars in August amounted to over 54,000 units, which is more than 20% higher than in July," he said at a meeting devoted to the development of Russia's auto industry in the Federation Council (upper house). "From the viewpoint of production, the dynamics is roughly in line with the sales market as around 420,000 cars were produced on Russian territory in January-August, which is 60% less than in the same period last year. The production of passenger cars equaled 321,000, down by 64% y/y. The sector of trucks and buses was hit less than others, with an around 14% decrease. It should be noted that production recovered dynamically in August compared with July as the production of all types totaled 37,000 units, up by 26% compared with July," Karimov added.
The share of cars produced in the Russian Federation amounted to around 80% of all sales, he noted.
The sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in Russia in August 2022 dropped by 62% year on year to 41,700 vehicles (chart), according to Association of European Businesses.
In 8M22 overall 0.4mn vehicles were sold, down 61% y/y. However, in August alone in month on month terms some recovery was seen as sales were up 29% compared to July. (chart) As followed by bne IntelliNews, the sanctions for the military invasion of Ukraine have brought the Russian car market screeching to a halt. Due to shortages of imported components most Russian car manufacturing has effectively stalled and the car market is expected to contract by at least 50% this year. However, Lada models of Russian largest car maker AvtoVaz accounted for almost half of the sales in August, which is to be attributed to the launch of state-discounted car lease support.
On the back of the programme AvtoVaz boosted its rock-bottom sales and showed only 7% decline to 18,000 vehicles. The company increased its market share to 43% in the reporting month.
Under sanctions the Lada Granta and the 2022 Lada Niva Legend models are currently being produced in "simplified" versions and missing many of the standard accessories and only recently have resumed the installation of airbags.
AvtoVaz was effectively nationalised after its largest shareholder French carmaker Renault handed over its stake in the company to the state for one
133 RUSSIA Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com