Russian 2013 New-Car Sales Off 5.5% From Record 2012

Russian new-vehicle sales fell 5.5% last year to 2.8 million units and the industry is expecting another slight drop this year, to 2.73 million.

The Association of European Businesses Automobile Manufacturers Committee says 2013 ended on a positive note, with deliveries up 4% in December to 264,257 units.

Committee Chairman Joerg Schreiber says the strong finish in the final month of 2013 alleviated what had been a difficult year after a record 2012 saw 2.94 million deliveries.

“No doubt the run-out of the car-loan subsidy in December played a role in bringing more customers to dealer showrooms than in the months before, in addition to the regular year-end peak and unusually mild weather,” Schreiber says in a statement.

The iconic Russian brand Lada easily retained its sales title despite deliveries falling 15% year-over-year to 456,309 units after December eased 10% to 38,948.

Renault followed with 12-month sales up 11% to 210,099 units, remaining ahead of third-place Kia, which rose 6% to 198,018.

Chevrolet finished the year in fifth place despite a 15% slump to 174,649 units. But it ended the year strongly with December deliveries climbing 19% to 18,755, good for third place for the month.

Detroit rival Ford saw 2013 sales dive 18% to 106,734 units after a December result down 13% to 12,376.

The Avtovaz-Renault-Nissan-Infiniti group dominated the Russian market with sales down 8% to 821,404 units. Volkswagen Group was a distant second, with deliveries falling 5% to 299,143.

The General Motors group finished the year down 11% to 257,583 units. Apart from Chevrolet, Opel’s 2013 result was virtually level with 81,421 units, up 179 ahead of 2012. Cadillac fell 25% to 1,513 units.

Lada’s Granta was Russia’s top-selling model in 2013 with deliveries up 38% to 166,947 units. The Hyundai Solaris followed, up 3% to 113,991, ahead of Kia’s New Rio, up 6% to 89,788.

The Ford Focus settled in seventh place, down 27% to 67,142 units, while the Chevrolet Cruze was 10^th, down 14% to 54,367 units and just ahead of the Chevy Niva, off 10% to 53,344.