Crisis Deepens in Russia, Automakers Still Not Scared

The economic recession continues and the negative results continue to occur all over the world, including Russia, one of the largest new car markets for most automakers. The crisis deepened in February but, despite gloomy predictions, some car manufacturers continued to run high. New car sales fell 38 percent in February, Autonews wrote, following a 33 percent decrease in January.

Moreover, the decrease for the two months of the year reached 36 percent to 140,384 units compared to the same period last year, the same source added, quoting a report issued by the Association of European Businesses (AEB).

"Because of the increased customs tariffs, high loan interest rates and the ruble devaluation, we can expect a further price increase and decline of the automotive market in Russia in the coming months," Martin Jahn, vice chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee, said.

However, Mr. Jahn expects higher sales in the next months, as both automakers and local authorities counteracted the recession as strong as possible. "Measures undertaken by the local authorities aimed at supporting the automotive industry in Russia will help to improve the situation," he added.

But more importantly, automakers in Russia are far from being worried when it comes to next months' forecasts. Lada remained Russia's top-selling brand, Autonews wrote, as it delivered a total number of 58,454 cars. Chevrolet arrived second with 20,881 followed by Ford with 18,449 units.

And despite these negative reports, Volkswagen managed to increase its sales by 47 percent to 6,869 units while Peugeot's sales rose by 45 percent to 7,034 cars. On the other hand, Ford Focus was the best-selling foreign car in Russia in the first two months of the year with 10,646 units delivered in the country.