January 2023 Russian car market shows a steep drop, with only a few brands posting gains
In January 2023 the Russian car market shrank by 63.1 percent compared with January 2022, leaving a gap of 55,537 fewer new cars sold. The total number of buyers who picked up a new vehicle reached 32,499. This snapshot, drawn from the Association of European Businesses (AEB) data, excludes sales figures for BMW and Mercedes-Benz as well as Chery and Cheryexeed.
Honda led the pace of decline, reporting only a single vehicle sold in January 2023, versus 87 units a year earlier, a staggering 99 percent drop. Lexus followed closely with five cars sold in January 2023 after 563 in January 2022, another 99 percent decrease. Toyota, holding third place, saw 60 cars sold in January 2023, down from 6,126 the previous year, mirroring a 99 percent decline.
Rounding out the top five by falling sales were Hyundai with 185 units (down 98 percent from 11,356), and Suzuki with 18 units (down 95 percent from 331). Other notable declines included Audi, VW, Mazda, Opel, and Genesis, each recording substantial year-over-year drops. In January, a total of 17 brands did not move a single unit. Among the names listed with zero sales were Porsche, Mitsubishi, Iveco, Fiat, Evolute, Brilliance, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Foton, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lifan, Nissan, Renault, Volvo, and Crazy.
The table below summarizes the brands most affected by the 90 percent-plus drop in January 2023 according to AEB data. It highlights how far the market contracted across the leading names in that period.
| Place | Brand | Sold in January 2023 | Sold in January 2022 | Change |
| 1 | Honda | 1 | 87 | -99% |
| 2 | Lexus | 5 | 563 | -99% |
| 3 | Toyota | 60 | 6 126 | -99% |
| 4 | Hyundai | 185 | 11 356 | -98% |
| 5 | Suzuki | 18 | 331 | -95% |
| 6 | Audi | 38 | 694 | -95% |
| 7 | VW | 257 | 4 317 | -94% |
| 8 | Mazda | 137 | 1 906 | -93% |
| 9 | Opel | 11 | 137 | -92% |
| 10 | Genesis | 15 | 152 | -90% |
Overall market leadership for January 2023 was driven by AVTOVAZ under new management, which kept production steady and allowed Lada to remain the dominant brand despite the overall downturn. Lada posted sales of 17,468 vehicles, a minor 3 percent decrease from the prior January, even as the market fell by 63.1 percent. When Chery is excluded due to non-reported figures, only three brands still managed a positive result in January, a performance that appears to reflect a low starting point in sales volumes a year earlier.
Among brands with gains in January 2023, the strongest rise was recorded by Great Wall, followed by Geely, DFM, Haval, and FAW. Great Wall expanded from 59 units to 278, a jump of 371 percent. Geely grew from 1,863 to 3,501 units, up 88 percent. DFM climbed from 95 to 158 units, a 66 percent increase. Haval sold 4,535 units, rising 43 percent from 3,169, while FAW increased from 159 to 165 units, a modest 4 percent gain.
It is important to note that the Association of European Businesses does not count sales of cars imported under the parallel import scheme. This distinction can influence the perceived performance of certain brands in the official statistics for January 2023.
- Mazda announced plans to halt production of a popular crossover, a surprising move given its status as the brand’s best-selling model in 2022.
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