2023-05-10 13:42:52
The volume of auto loans approved by Russian banks to individuals in April amounted to 109.5 billion rubles and turned out to be a record monthly figure since the beginning of observations – since the end of 2013. The previous record was set in the second year of the coronavirus pandemic – in April 2021, 100.1 billion rubles were issued , is noted in the data of the analytical company Frank RG, which leads RBC.
In April, 77,000 car loans were approved. Compared to March, the indicators increased by 14% in monetary terms and by 9% in quantitative terms. In March, compared to February, they also grew – by 21% and 14%, respectively. It is also reported that the average size of a car loan is also growing – in April it amounted to 1.42 million rubles. The previous maximum was in February 2022 – 1.4 million rubles.
Sergey Udalov, executive director of the Avtostat analytical agency, explains such growth rates in car loans issuance by a combination of factors. One of them is the rise in car prices. Since 2020, there has been a shortage of new cars on the market, so prices have been continuously rising, he noted. Because of this, the size of the loan also increased, he noted.
Another important factor is the growth in the share of loans for used cars, which now accounts for 60% of all car loans. 10 years ago, loans for used cars barely reached 10% of all loans, the expert says. Now more and more buyers are oriented to them due to the lack of new ones.
Another factor, according to Udalov, is the economic attractiveness of secured car loans for banks. “In recent years, when the price of cars has risen rapidly, the residual value of used cars has not fallen, but has grown. And, therefore, the cost of collateral for banks increased,” he notes.
Given the price of cars that has risen sharply over the past two years, few can now afford such a purchase, says Denis Smolyanov, deputy editor-in-chief of Autonews.ru. This, he says, has led buyers to take out loans.
First, the market faced the covid, then the shortage of cars caused by it, and dealers began to “inflate prices” due to the shortage, and then it grew even more after the start of the special operation, Vedomosti’s source notes. At the same time, people need to change old cars, which has led to an increase in car loans, he says.
In Russia, since 2020, a deferred demand for at least 1 million cars has formed, Anton Shaparin, vice president of the National Automobile Union, told Vedomosti. The average age of a car in Russia has risen to 14 years, he stressed. “In addition, people see that the situation is not changing and will change, and it’s probably not worth waiting for the return of familiar companies, because you still need to drive something,” Shaparin said.
According to the expert, the model of consumer behavior is also changing: many people for whom a Chinese car used to be synonymous with poor quality have now changed their attitude towards it. This, in particular, is influenced by the arrival of new Chinese brands and large investments in advertising, the source explained.
One of the factors in the growth of lending is the increasingly active conquest of the Russian market by Chinese manufacturers, the expert agrees.Opening Auto” Alexander Potapov. In addition to domestic Lada, UAZ and GAZ, Chinese brands Chery, Haval and Geely became the leaders in sales among new cars in April, he noted. In April, many of the Chinese brands showed a multiple growth dynamics against the backdrop of a low base in April 2022. Thus, Geely increased sales by 14 times, Haval – by nine, Changan – by eight, Chery – by seven times, the expert noted.
At the same time, in addition to increasing availability and expanding the model range, most Chinese automakers continued to actively implement rate subsidy programs that allow them to offer buyers attractive credit conditions for the purchase of cars, Potapov told Vedomosti.
Earlier, Vedomosti wrote that sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in April increased by almost 71% compared to April 2022. A total of 54,270 vehicles were sold. Such growth was expected due to the ultra-low base of April 2022. After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, the jump in exchange rates and car prices, the massive cessation of shipment of cars by foreign automakers, the market sank by 79% in annual terms to 32,706 cars sold.
According to auto expert Vladimir Bespalov, the April growth of the market is caused, in fact, by a mathematical effect. It is unlikely to remain, although the market capacity in Russia is much larger than the current values, he told Vedomosti.
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