Russia July 2018: Skoda shines, Lada Vesta leads and teases Kia Rio YTD

The Lada Vesta is now only 733 sales off the YTD pole position.

* See the Top 54 All-brands and Top 25 models by clicking on the title *

Still somewhat adversely affected by the World Cup, new car sales in Russia gain 10.6% year-on-year in July to 143.452 units, the lowest uplift since April 2017 (+6.9%) but still marking a very impressive 15 consecutive months of double-digit gains and 17 months of gains outright. The year-to-date volume is now up 17% to 992.673, the highest score at this stage of the year since 2014 (1.410.606). Homegrown brand leader Lada (+11%) matches the market to remain above 20% share at 20.5%, while Kia (+14%) and Hyundai (+20%) both outpace the overall growth. Renault (-4%) is along with Ford (-6%) the only Top 10 manufacturer in negative.

Zotye (+384%) and Haval (+85%) are starting to gain traction in Russia.

Skoda (+25%), Toyota (+22%) and Volkswagen (+19%) also progress faster than the market. Below, Honda (+316%), Genesis (+208%), Mitsubishi (+132%), Suzuki (+48%), Peugeot (+46%), Mini (+40%) and Jaguar (+38%) are among the most dynamic, but it’s once again the Chinese, albeit still discreet, that score the most impressive gains: Zotye (+384%), HTM (+250%), Dongfeng (+164%), FAW (+160%), Changan (+94%) and Haval (+85%) all shine even though Chery (-17%) remains the most popular in Russia at #30 overall above Zotye (#32) and Haval (#34).

The Kia Soul scores its very first Top 20 finish in Russia…

Over in the models ranking, the Lada Vesta (+39%) snaps its third ever monthly win at home after last January and last month even though this time it doesn’t break any volume or share records. This way, the Vesta increases the pressure on the Kia Rio (-8%) for the 2018 title of best-selling vehicle in Russia, now only 733 sales away. If the Vesta manages to overtake the Kia Rio before 2018 comes to an end, it would be the first Lada #1 at home since the Granta was the best-seller in 2015.

…just as the Skoda Kodiaq breaks into the Top 25.

The VW Polo (+40%) steps up two spots on June and its YTD ranking to reach its highest spot since November 2015 at #4, toppling the Hyundai Solaris (+23%) while the Hyundai Creta (+66%) celebrates 24 consecutive months as Russia’s #1 SUV, with the Lada XRAY (+33%) soars 11 spots to #9 and the #2 SUV spot for the month. Other great performers near the top of the ranking this month include the Hyundai Tucson (+269%), the Kia Soul (+70%) cracking the Top 25 and the Top 20 for the first time at #18, the Skoda Kodiaq scoring its very first Top 25 finish at #24, as well as the Mitsubishi Outlander (+67%), Kia Cee’d (+32%), Sportage (+31%) and Nissan X-Trail (+28%).

Previous post (1): Russia First Half 2018: Discover the All-models ranking (BSCB Exclusive)

Previous post (2): Russia First Half 2018: Lada at highest in 7 years, market up 18.2%

Previous month: Russia June 2018: Lada Vesta breaks volume record to snap 2nd ever win

One year ago: Russia July 2017: Largest year-on-year gain since Feb 2012 at +18.6%

Full July 2018 Top 54 All-brands and Top 25 models below.