The native Lada is among the first: 40 thousand cars were sold in March.
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It seems that the black streak of the Russian car market is slowly but surely turning into a solid white streak. In 2022-23, representative offices of Western automakers closed in our country, and along with them, car sales fell to a record level. But in March 2024, 146.5 thousand new passenger cars were sold in our country: these are data from the Autostat agency. At the same time, the volume of the Russian automobile market in March exceeded February figures by 41%. And this is the maximum since May 2021. It turns out that we have almost returned to the pre-sanction sales level in monthly terms.
The native Lada is among the first: 40 thousand cars were sold in March. Behind them are Haval (16 thousand) and Geely (15 thousand) with a decent delay. These three brands, by the way, represented almost half of sales: 48.4%.
It is interesting to note that the volume and number of auto loans increase with sales. Thus, according to the United Credit Bureau (UCB), the volume of new car loans granted in February increased by 39% and the number by 35%. And in just one year (February 2023 – February 2024), the volume of new car loans issued increased by 135%, and the number – by 99%.
However, it is too early to rejoice.
– It is not very correct to compare March of last year with March of this year. The situation is changing rapidly, including due to the emergence of Chinese-made cars. There are many trends and also negative ones,” says automotive expert Andrei Lomanov. – There was a shortage of cars in the country and their prices rose to astronomical figures. If before a car cost on average 1.2 million rubles, now the price starts at 3 million. Although loans are increasing, they are still not profitable. Nowadays, there are no longer any loans, such as installment payment plans, with almost zero interest.
In addition, according to the expert, there is another reason for the March rush: the increase in the price of cars imported through the EAEU countries from April 1 (previously, due to the difference in customs duties, It was profitable to import cars from there, but since April additional payments have appeared that have increased the prices of this type of car).
“In February and March everyone was trying to buy cars at a good price,” adds Andrei Lomanov. – And it is not only private owners, but also companies that are renewing their fleet of vehicles: taxis, shared cars. However, dynamic growth of the market has not yet been observed. Now there is another trend. Many people give up cars, especially in big cities, if they can use taxis or car sharing. And this situation will not change in the near future.
TOP 10 best-selling cars
Brand, March 2023, March 2024, Dynamics
Lada: 24264, 39908, 64.5%
Haval: 6857, 16045, 134%
Geely: 5258, 15004, 185.4%
Chery: 8037, 13159, 63.7%
Changan: 1030, 9330, 805.8%
Exceeded: 3370, 4664, 38.4%
Omoda: 2396, 4632, 93.3%
Lixiang: 24, 3617, 14970%
Belgium: 2732 –
Jettour: 2616 –
