Russian LV Sales Comeback No Sure Bet, Industry Says
The pace of declining sales again slowed in March, but automakers’ spokesman Joerg Schreiber says the recovery may have reflected ‟one-time effects” that could curtail second-quarter demand.
Russia’s yearlong slump in new-vehicle demand may be nearing an end as March sales show the first signs of consolidation, but the industry is not so sure.
Deliveries for the month of 243,335 units were just 890 short of the prior-year 244,225 total, Association of European Businesses Automobile Manufacturers Committee data shows.
Committee Chairman Joerg Schreiber says the Russian car market entered a phase of contraction one year ago, which, with the exception of December 2013, continued in every following month.
“The pace of decline had been less pronounced in recent months, indicating that consolidation is around the corner,” Schreiber says in a statement. “In March, the market seems to have finally reached this point.”
The question now, he says, is whether this will be lasting.
“Prevailing thinking among market participants is that the recent spike in market demand was driven by one-time effects, which will have a reverse impact on customer activity in the second quarter,” Schreiber says.
“The order banks generated during that spike, however, should contribute to a further improving (year-over-year) performance of the retail industry in the coming one to two months.”
Lada, as usual, dominated the market, despite falling 8% in March to 37,060 units for a first-quarter total down 15% to 91,603.
Renault followed, also dropping 8% for the month to 16,637 units for a 3-month result down 4% to 46,252.
Kia was in third place with March deliveries rising 7% to 17,787 units, but remained in fourth place year-to-date with sales up 1% to 42,289.
Nissan followed, up 26% to 17,535 in March for third place in the first quarter, up 27% to 45,744.
Chevrolet was in seventh place with March deliveries down 3% to 13,439 units to give it a sixth-place first-quarter finish, off 3% to 35,307. General Motors stablemate Opel was 11th, down 5% to 7,109 units for a 3-month result down 9% to 18,000.
The GM Group maintained third place with March sales off 3% to 20,710 units for a year-to-date total down 5% to 53,646.
Ford dropped to 12th place as March deliveries dived 33% to 6,817 units, leaving its year-to-date total off 27% to 17,373.
The AvtoVAZ-Renault-Nissan Alliance saw its March market share fall to 29.7% from a year-ago 30.1% as deliveries dropped 2% to 72,266 units for a 3-month total down 4% to 185,937.
The Volkswagen Group made a small gain on the market leader with March sales up 5% to 27,263 units, but remained down 2% after three months to 65,099.
Among individual models, the Lada Granta continued to lead the field in March despite deliveries slipping 10% to 12,958 units for a 3-month total down 13% to 32,493.
Hyundai’s Solaris, up 2% to 9,837 units, clung to second place ahead of a fast-closing Kia New Rio, up 18% to 9,728. After three months Solaris deliveries inched up 56 units to 25,444, while the New Rio gained 6% to 20,926.
Among the U.S. contingent, only the Chevrolet Niva cracked the leaderboard with a ninth-place March result down 2% to 4,304 units for a 10th-place first-quarter finish, down 12% to 10,551.
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