Russia’s new car sales in August reach 10-year peak: report

ST. PETERSBURG, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) — New car sales in August 2024 in Russia showed the best August result since 2015, the Association of European Businesses (AEB) reported on Wednesday.
According to a report from AEB, an industry guild, Russia’s total sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in August amounted to 152,012 units, a 34 percent increase over the same month in 2023. Meanwhile, sales for the first eight months of this year outpaced sales for the same period last year by 62 percent.
The situation is driven by a number of factors. Alexey Kalitsev, chairman of the Automobile Manufacturers Committee, said that a significant postponed demand emerged in the Russian market after February 2022 due to market deficit. This demand is now being met as the market is saturated with new models. In addition, consumers rush to buy new cars as disposal fees are expected to increase in October.
Kalitsev expressed the belief that this trend is highly likely to continue in September, unless new factors influence consumer behavior. ■