Sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCV) in Russia in the first half of 2022 decreased by 57% compared to the same period last year, the Association of European Businesses (AEB) Automobile Manufacturers Committee said in a statement. A total of 370,228 cars were sold.
The fall in sales in June amounted to 82% in annual terms to 27,751 vehicles, follows from AEB statistics. At the same time, in June, the rate of market decline somewhat slowed down compared to May, when 24,268 vehicles were sold (-84%).
The domestic AvtoVAZ is still the market leader. Its sales in the first half fell by 63% to 74,714 vehicles. For comparison, last year the company usually managed to sell so many cars in about two months. Sales of Kia decreased by 58% to 45,571 cars, Hyundai – by 56% (39,777). Renault and Toyota sold 60% less, 28,246 and 18,554 cars respectively. The equipment of the GAZ Group reached the sixth line in the first half of the year, which was sold with a circulation of 15,829 units (-33%).
Sales of Chinese brands are also declining, but about twice as slow as the market. So, Haval sold 11,652 cars (-28%) in the first half of the year, Chery – 11,147 (-27%), Geely – 7,910 (-16%), and Chery’s sub-brand – Cheryexeed – grew by 3.5 times. for half a year up to 4,320 cars.
May-June was probably the most critical period for the Russian auto industry, says independent auto industry consultant Sergei Burgazliev. He noted that taking into account the work of AvtoVAZ, the dynamics of car sales may slightly increase, but new models may stagnate in warehouses for a very long time due to the ratio of price and quality. According to the expert, the market decline in 2022 may be 60% or more.
AvtoVAZ resumed production after periodic downtime on June 8 and began producing Lada Granta in a simplified configuration – without anti-lock brakes, airbags and the ERA-GLONASS emergency call module. In addition to it, UAZ cars, the GAZ Group in the commercial segment, the Chinese Haval and, in part, Avtotor are produced.
According to Burgazliev, the Russian auto industry is reorienting itself to the East, mainly to China. But so far, the sales volumes of Chinese concerns are “rather modest,” the expert stated. They can come to Russia as partners of Russian manufacturers and consider options for acquiring existing sites, he admits. Among manufacturers from other countries, Burgazliev named India, theoretically, the Korean SsangYong can “rise from the ashes”. Turkish companies can act as suppliers of components, he added.