Russia’s February 2023 Car Market: Slower Overall Demand with Shifting Brand Shares
February 2023 saw 56.1 thousand passenger cars sold in Russia, a drop of 43.4 percent from February of the previous year. This update comes from Analytical Agency Avtostat, referencing data gathered by Passport Industrial Consulting JSC.
In the month, Russian brands accounted for about 40 percent of all sales, while Chinese brands held a 36.4 percent share. Domestic brands posted a 12.5 percent rise in sales, whereas Chinese brand sales surged by more than double compared with a year earlier. Sales of brands from Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea fell sharply, ranging from 20 to 90 percent year on year.
Among the most popular brands in Russia were Lada with 21.6 thousand units sold, Chery with 6.8 thousand, Haval at 5 thousand, Geely with 3.3 thousand, and Kia at 3.2 thousand. For other brands, February results remained under 3,000 units. Hyundai, Exeed, Omoda, Toyota and UAZ joined the top ten in this period.
Lada Granta led the model rankings with 15.1 thousand unit sales. It was followed by Lada Niva Travel at 3.5 thousand units, Chery Tiggo 7 Pro with 2.4 thousand, and Lada Niva Legend also at 2.4 thousand. Rounding out the top ten were the Haval Jolion, Omoda C5, Geely Coolray, Haval F7X, Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max, and Geely Atlas Pro, all from Chinese brands.
Earlier, AvtoVAZ noted that February 2023 saw a 34.2 percent rise in new Lada car sales compared with January of the same year, signaling a partial month-to-month improvement for the brand amid a broader market slowdown.