Russia November 2020: Lada (+21.9%), Chinese (+68.1%) again help market up 5.9%, Cheryexeed launches

The Cheryexeed brand has launched in Russia.

New car sakes in Russia manage a 4th year-on-year gain in the past 5 months after last July (+6.8%), September (+3.4%) and October (+7%) as a weaker ruble and higher prices anticipated for the new year have pushed customers into car dealerships. November is up 5.9% to 157.580 units, leading to a year-to-date tally down -10.3% to 1.346.351. Note these totals don’t include BMW, Mini and Mercedes which are reporting quarterly for Russia.

Lada (+21.9%) continues to vastly outpace its home market, widening the gap with immediate follower Kia (+7.1%) at 24.2% share vs. 13.3%. Hyundai (+6.9%), Renault (+7.9%) and Volkswagen (+11.4%) also beat the market in a high performing Top 5, but only UAZ (+10.1%) and Skoda (+6.8%) are up in the remainder of the Top 10. Further down, Chinese brands continue to post spectacular improvements: Chery is up 146.6%, Geely up 126.4%, Changan up 84.1% and Haval up 10.3%.

The “Cheryexeed” brand appears for the first time in the Russian charts, according to local association AEB it is sold under separate dealerships since October 22. Those of you following the Chinese market closely would have recognised the Chery-owned Exeed semi-premium brand. Interestingly, marketers for the brand in Russia have felt the need to attach to it its parent brand. Cheryexeed has its own Russian website and for now sells the TXL SUV. Overall, Chinese carmakers are up 68.1% year-on-year in Russia this month.

The Top 10 models are entirely in positive, with the Renault Logan (+37.7%), Lada Vesta (+35.3%), Hyundai Solaris (+29.4%), VW Polo (+24.1%) and Lada 4×4 (+20.3%) posting particularly strong results. Below, the Hyundai Tucson (+39.5%), Nissan X-Trail (+35.6%), Toyota RAV4 (+23.8%) and Renault Kaptur (+20.2%) also impress – all SUVs. The replacement for the Kia Optima, the K5, continue to swiftly climb the ladder and is up 8 spots on October to #17. Finally, the Renault Arkana (-0.9%) scores its second Top 25 finish of the year alongside last June.

Previous month: Russia October 2020: Lada (+22.4%), Chinese (+59.3%) help pull largest gain this year (+7%), Kia K5 in Top 25

One year ago: Russia November 2019: Skoda (+10.5%), GAZ (+24.6%) resist in 9th sales drop in past 10 months (-6.4%)

Full November 2020 Top 50 All-brands and Top 25 models below.