November new car sales in Russia up 80%

New car sales in Russia rose an incredible 80% in November; the biggest rise in two years. Analysts put this down to a rebounding economy and the extension of the government backed rebate program for used vehicles.

Sales of cars and light trucks reached 189,902 units last month, pushing the year-to-date total to 1.7 million, or 28% more than for the same period in 2009, the Association of European Businesses said.

Sales may reach 1.9 million units this year, which is “significantly beyond any previous forecasts,” David Thomas, chairman of the AEB’s automobile-manufacturers committee, said in a statement.

The government is spending at least 21.5 billion rubles ($687 million) this year on cash incentives for car purchases. Russia is following countries around the world that extended incentive programs to reverse slumps in car sales during the worst global slowdown since the Second World War.

“Clearly the scrappage scheme and improving credit availability have combined with increased consumer confidence to deliver growth across all segments and most brands,” Thomas said.

Foreign car manufacturers including VW, Ford and Toyota are increasing their output in Russia and rolling out new models as the country’s economy expands.

The 4 best-selling models through November however are all Ladas, made by AvtoVAZ, Russia’s largest automaker, followed by the Russian made Ford Focus and Renault/Dacia Logan.

Source: Reuters

Renault Logan