Car buyers in Russia have become more likely to choose station wagons and hatchbacks

In April, car buyers in Russia began to choose relatively inexpensive station wagons and hatchbacks more often, while sales of sedans and SUVs decreased with an intensity exceeding the dynamics of the retail sector as a whole. Domestic brand cars accounted for 33.6 thousand transactions, which is 28% less than in the same period last year, according to experts from Gazprombank Autoleasing, which was reviewed by Izvestia on May 20.

"In general, Russian—made cars accounted for 33.6 thousand transactions - 13.2 thousand, or 28% less than in the same period last year. Of the top 20 most in-demand models, 11 have reduced sales, and nine have increased. At the same time, it is clearly noticeable that customers have become more likely to choose those relatively inexpensive car models that are traditionally considered the most practical, such as station wagons and hatchbacks," said Alexander Kornev, head of the Department for work with importers at Gazprombank Automotive Leasing.

According to him, in terms of market shares, domestic brands accounted for 33.5% in April, 1 percentage point less than a year ago. The same trend may continue in May—June due to a decrease in the availability of financial instruments such as lending and leasing, the expert suggested.

"However, in the second half of the year, with the proper development of Russia's main retail production facilities and the appearance of long-promised new products in showrooms, including Lada Iskra, domestic products are likely to begin to increase their market share again," he added.

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Lada, the leader of the Russian car industry, had 28,500 customers in April. A year ago, there were 33% more of them. Sales of two Lada Granta models, the 2190 sedan and the 2191 liftback, fell faster than the market (by 45-47%). Speaking about Lada Vesta, analysts noted that sales of sedans decreased more than threefold — to 3.8 thousand (-68%). On the other hand, the number of buyers who chose station wagons increased to 3.3 thousand (+82%).

At the same time, there was a seasonally high demand for Lada Niva all-terrain vehicles. In April, 3.1 thousand people (-39%) chose the Travel model, while Legend — slightly less than 3 thousand (-35%). Lada Aura has limited sales so far (91 units). Xcite XCross 7 all-terrain vehicles — 420 vehicles presented in Lada showrooms - were also among the top 20 most popular Russian models in April.

In turn, the Moskvich 3 crossover showed a drop in volumes (-34%). Sales of the Moskvich 6 liftback decreased (112 cars, -44%). 23 Moskvich 5 cars were sold, two Moskvich 8 cars. According to April registrations, UAZ sold 582 Patriot all—terrain vehicles (-23%) and 210 Pickup trucks (-41%), while JAC sold 207 Sollers ST6 pickup trucks (-5%). 91 Evolute I-Space hybrid cars, 2.3 thousand Solaris cars (+140%) were also sold.

Earlier, on May 13, it was reported that 2,647 electric vehicles were sold in Russia in the first four months of 2025. This is three times less than in the same period last year (8,126 units). The leader in sales was the Zeekr 001 with a score of 518 units. Avatr is in second place, with a circulation of 218 units. The third was the domestic Evolute I-Pro (208 units).