Russian car market fell by 45% in March
Total sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia in March 2025 amounted to 83.1 thousand units, which is 45% less than in March last year. This was reported by the AEB Committee of Automobile Manufacturers with reference to the data of JSC PPK, the report was received by Izvestia on April 3.
According to the results of the three months of 2025, compared with sales of the same period in 2024, sales decreased by 26% and amounted to 254.1 thousand vehicles. As Alexey Kalitsev, Chairman of the Committee of Automobile Manufacturers, noted, over the past 10 years, the March results were worse in percentage terms only in 2022 (-59%), and in the first quarter — in 2015 (-36%).
The negative dynamics intensified due to the high financial burden, as well as the expectations of buyers of the likely return to the Russian market of some previously departed automotive companies, he explained. Due to the fact that some Russians have decided to postpone the purchase of a new car, the volume of pent-up demand has increased, which may lead to an increase in the future.
The continuation of the downward trend in the market may lead to a crisis in the industry, which will require urgent government support, Kalitsev said.
"Special attention should be paid to such areas as updating the preferential lending program in terms of bringing the price range of cars covered by the program in line with the actual cost, as well as extending the possibility of access to a taxi fleet renewal program with a localization level of at least 1,500 points," he said.
The day before, the head of AVTOVAZ, Maxim Sokolov, said that in March the Russian car market showed significant negative dynamics, declining by 44.4%. In March, 28.7 thousand Lada passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in Russia, which is 7.4% more than in February this year and 33% less than a year earlier.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
