Month-on-Month Gain Eases Ongoing Russian Sales Slump

Russian new-vehicle sales declined again in September, but the falloff eased and the year-to-date total passed the 2 million-unit mark, giving the industry hope the market is beginning to stabilize.

The Association of European Businesses automobile manufacturers committee reports deliveries for the month fell 5% to 246,895 units for a 9-month total down 7% to 2,046,700.

Committee Chairman Joerg Schreiber sees the market in medical terms: “The average temperature in the hospital is improving, but the patient as a whole is still far from being well. Such could be the ‘diagnosis’ for the total market situation in September – on a monthly basis, the sales trend shows signs of improvement.”

Sales had fallen 10% in August to 231,915 units and the September result represented a 6.5% improvement.

“Compared to last year, however, total market momentum is still lacking sufficient strength necessary to achieve a stable level as a precondition for moderate growth in the nearer future,” Schreiber says in a statement.

The association predicts fourth-quarter sales of 740,000 units, down 1.1% from a year ago, for a full-year result that will be off 5.1% to 2.79 million.

Lada led the September result despite deliveries slumping 20% to 40,011 units, ahead of Kia, up 9% to 18,004, and Renault, climbing 23% to 17,254.

With three-quarters of the year in the books, Lada was down 14% to 343,368 units. Renault followed with a 12% gain to 155,081, ahead of Kia, up 4% to 146,986.

Chevrolet sales fell 13% for the month to 16,071 units to leave it in fifth place year-to-date, declining 17% to 127,742.

Ford sales tumbled 29% in September to 8,120 units for a 9-month total down 19% to 77,474, good for ninth place in the market.

The AvtoVAZ-Renault-Nissan group’s September sales dropped 20% to 73,035 units, but it continued to dominate the Russian market with a 29.6% share even as its year-to-date result slipped 9% to 606,857.

Volkswagen Group was a distant second with deliveries down 6% to 25,994 units and a 9-month showing off 5% to 223,213.

General Motors sales retreated 8% to 23,140 units,  and down 13% through September to 188,911.

Lada’s Granta again was the top-selling model in September, up 5% to 14,743 units for a 9-month total ahead 59% to 128,477. Hyundai’s Solaris followed, up 17% for the month to 10,676 units and a 2% uptick year-to-date to 85,757.

Ford Focus deliveries plunged 40% in September to 4,656 units for 10^th place, but it remained in sixth place year-to-date despite backsliding 26% to 50,406.

Chevrolet’s Cruze remained in ninth place through September, off 8% to 42,660 units after last month’s sales eased fractionally to 5,070 from a year-ago 5,091.