Russia April 2019: Skoda (+16.2%), BMW (+13.1%), Geely (+260.2%) impress in 2nd market drop in 3 months

Geely sales are up 260.2% in Russia in April, partly thanks to the Atlas SUV.

April Russian sales (-2.7% to 148.296) show that the February decline, the first one in two year, wasn’t a freak event and may be a sign of things to come, as a recent 2% rise of the VAT for cars in the country and low consumer confidence have cripples new car sales in the country. The year-to-date volume is now down -1% year-on-year to 539.946. Surprisingly, the market drop isn’t affecting the most popular carmakers as much, with 4 in the Top 5 posting positive results for the month, starting with homegrown leader Lada (+5.2%) up to 21.8% share ahead of Kia (+1.2%) at 13.4%, with Renault (+4.9%) and Volkswagen (+7.3%) also very strong and Hyundai (-3.1%) the odd one out.

Nevertheless it’s Skoda (+16.2%) that signs the largest and only double-digit gain in the Top 10, with Mercedes (+1.5%) and GAZ (+1.1%) also up. Further down, Datsun (+74.1%), Genesis (+24.1%), Jeep (+22.5%), Suzuki (+20.6%), Porsche (+18.3%) and BMW (+13.1%) impress but once again it’s the Chinese carmakers that deliver the most spectacular gains, starting with their leader Geely (+260.6%) cracking the Russian Top 20 for the first time since October 2015, but also Haval (+185.8%) and Dongfeng (+72.4%) whereas previous leader Lifan (-62.2%) is in total perdition.

Model-wise, the Lada Granta (+69.9%) reclaims the top spot off the Lada Vesta (+30.1%) for the 6th time in the past 8 months, cementing its YTD lead. The Kia Rio (-0.2%) and Hyundai Creta (+3.2%) stay put while the VW Polo (+16%) overtakes the Hyundai Solaris (-20.4%) for 5th place overall. The Renault Duster (+3.3%) remains the #2 SUV in the country with the Renault Sandero (+22.8%) and the Skoda Rapid (+11.4%) also very strong in the tail end of the Top 10. Further down, the Skoda Kodiaq (+307.5%), Kia Soul (+37.7%), Kia Optima (+33.9%) and Toyota Camry (+27%) shine.

Previous month: Russia March 2019: Lada Vesta reclaims #1 spot, breaks records in market back up (+1.8%)

One year ago: Russia April 2018: Lada XRAY breaks records in market up 17.6%

Full April 2019 Top 53 All-brands and Top 25 models below.