Russia June 2019: Ford (+42.8%), Haval, Geely defy 4th market drop in past 5 months (-3.3%)

Swan song for Ford in Russia as the Kuga scores its first (and last?) Top 25 finish.

New light vehicle sales in Russia endure a 4th year-on-year drop in the past 5 months in June at -3.3% to 151.180 units, leading to a First Half tally down -2.4% to 828.750. Homegrown brand leader Lada (-2%) manages to contain its fall to below the national average at 20.4% share, earning an H1 volume in positive at +2.5% to 21% share. Kia (-2.6%) and Hyundai (-0.6%) also resist well on the podium and post positive H1 results, but Renault (-12%) is in great difficulty due partly to the (incomprehensible) delay in launching the 2nd generation Duster, the brand’s best-seller in the country. This month Ford (+42.8%) clearly stands out as the largest gainer in the Top 15 and one of only two Top 10 carmakers in positive alongside Volkswagen (+5.7%). However this is mostly due to stock clearances as Ford announced last March it was exiting the Russian market and closing its two factories there.

Further down, Datsun (+67.7%), Jeep (+31.6%), BMW (+15.2%), Porsche (+14.1%), Suzuki (+12.5%), Volvo (+11.8%) and Isuzu (+10.4%) make themselves noticed with substantial gains but once again it’s the Chinese that post the most spectacular advances, led by Haval (+336.7%), Geely (+295%) cementing its newfound status of #1 Chinese brand in Russia, Dongfeng (+62.6%) and Brilliance (+50%) just as previous perennial leader Lifan (-75.1%) crashes and burns.

Haval sales are up 336.7% year-on-year in Russia in June.

Model-wise the Lada Granta (+26.4%) continues to enjoy the benefits of its facelift, topping the Russian charts for the third straight month, the 8th time in the past 10 months and the 48th time in total – the most of any nameplate this decade. For reference, the other #1 models since January 2010 are as follows: Kia Rio 16 times (last in May 2018), Lada Priora 12 (last in August 2012), Hyundai Solaris 11 (last in July 2016), Lada Kalina 11 (last in July 2012), Lada Vesta 6 (last in March 2019), Lada Classic 6 (last in March 2011) and Lada Samara 3 (last in December 2011).

The VW Tiguan (+22.9%) posts the largest gain in the Top 15 and equals its record Russian ranking at #9 (also hit last October), displaying very impressive consistency at the highest level as it finishes inside the Russian Top 12 for the 8th time in the past 9 months. However the Hyundai Creta (+3.2%) holds onto the title of #1 SUV in Russia for the 35th month in a row with no interruption since its launch month in August 2-016. The Lada Largus (+13.9%) and VW Polo (+2.8%) are also up, while further down the Ford Kuga (+67.5%) signs its first ever Top 25 finish in Russia, the Skoda Kodiaq (+54.3%) is rewarded for its 9th Top 25 finish in the past 12 months with a spot in the 2019 YTD Top 25 and both the Kia Optima (+42.7%) and Lada XRAY (+11.5%) deliver solid upticks.

Previous month: Russia May 2019: Skoda (+16.9%), Lada Granta (+30.7%), Vesta (+14.9%) can’t help steepest market fall in almost 3 years (-6.7%)

One year ago (1): Russia June 2018: Lada Vesta breaks volume record to snap 2nd ever win

One year ago (2): Russia First Half 2018: Lada at highest in 7 years, market up 18.%

Full June 2019 Top 52 All-brands and Top 25 models below.