Belarus First Half 2020: Geely (+40.9%), Toyota (+34.6%) defy market slipping -13.7%

Geely sales lift 40.9% to #3 brand in Belarus so far in 2020.

It’s a seesaw First Half of the year for new car sales in Belarus, with BAA reporting January volumes down -35%, February up 31.7%, March up a massive 65.9%, April collapsing -54.9%, May off -27.7% and June sporting a fantastic recovery at +26.8% year-on-year. All-in-all, the Belorussian market is down a contained -13.7% so far in 2020 to 27.789 units. However even though they remains 3 of the 4 most popular marques in the country, both Lada (-35%), Renault (-27.5%) and Volkswagen (-19.4%) all lose significant share vs. H1 2019. This to the benefit of Geely (+40.9%) up from 9.7% of the market to 15.7% this year, Kia (+17.3%) up from 5.4% to 7.2% and Hyundai (+25.9%) up from 4.6% to 6.6%. Toyota (+34.6%) and LCV specialist GAZ (+32.8%) also shine in the Top 10, while further down Citroen (+98%), Land Rover (+39.3%), Mercedes (+24.6%) and Haval (+24.1%) stand out. Zotye surges to #25 and Changan lands at #32.

The Lada Vesta (-41.1%) remains the most popular nameplate in the country but drops to 9.1% share whereas the VW Polo (-11.9%) improves to 8.1%. The arrival of a new generation in July will definitely boost Polo volumes in H2 and it could reclaim the annual lead for the first time since 2017. The locally-assembled Geely Atlas (+18.8%) continue to climb up the ladder and steps onto the podium over the period with a round 7% share vs. 5.1% a year ago. The Renault Logan Stepway (+232.6%) has annihilated sales of the standard version and is up to #4 vs. #9 over FY19, with the Kia Rio (+10.9%) rounding out the Top 5. In the remainder of the Top 20, the Geely Emgrand 7 (+48.8%), Hyundai Accent (+32.5%), Kia Sportage (+30.2%), Geely Emgrand X7 (+13.7%) and Hyundai Creta (+13%) also impress with gains just as we welcome two new launches: the Geely Coolray (#16) and Renault Arkana (#20).

Previous post: Belarus April 2020: Geely threatens Lada for pole position in market halted -40%

One year ago: Belarus First Half 2019: Lada (+109.9%) reclaims #1 spot for first time since 2012 in market up 37.6%

Full H1 2020 Top 35 All-brands and Top 20 models below.