Chill ran through: new car sales decreased by 9.5%
The January results in the Russian automotive market turned out to be predictable: sales of new cars decreased by 9.5%. Half of the ten most popular automobile companies in our country showed a significant drop in the first month of 2026. At the same time, the top ten itself has undergone major changes. The details are in the Izvestia article.
January's negative
According to the results of the first month of 2026, 80,604 new cars were sold in Russia. Such data is provided by the analytical agency Autostat, based on the number of issued EPTS. This is 9.5% worse than the results of January last year, experts say.
According to Sergey Udalov, executive director of Autostat, the decline was partially delayed by December last year. He noted that according to the analysis of passenger car sales by week, the data from January 2026 is slightly lower than in January last year, but very close.
— The participants of the car market have noticeably less negative moods than before. They adapt faster to changes and respond more quickly to additional inputs in economics and regulation," he said during the Autostat online conference. RAM".
Lada remains the market leader in January: its share was about 24% (a year ago it exceeded 30%). In the first month of this year, 19,644 AvtoVAZ vehicles were sold. Haval is in second place with 10,726 cars sold and a market share of 13.3%. The third place was taken by the Russian brand Tenet with a share of 11%. These cars were purchased by 8,949 customers in January. This is followed by Geely (4,720 cars, 5.9% of the market) and Belgee (2,946 cars, 3.7% share). The top ten most popular brands also include Changan (2,380 units), Toyota (2,118 vehicles, all delivered via alternative channels), Jetour (2,113 vehicles), Mazda (2,098 units, also imported via parallel import) and Solaris (1,536 vehicles).
The most popular model last month was Lada Granta — 7,597 cars (-33.5% by January 2025). The Haval Jolion crossover retained the title of the most in-demand foreign car in Russia and the second place in the "personal standings" (4366 units, +5.5%). Kaluga Tenet T7 and T4 have the third and fourth positions (4169 and 4123 cars, respectively). Since these models entered the market only in the middle of last year, the dynamics of their sales does not appear in the Autostat report. Lada Vesta closes the top five with a result of 3,037 units (-62.1%).
The top 10 also includes Lada Niva Travel SUVs (3002 units, -3.2%) and Niva Legend (2388 cars, -14.1%), as well as Lada Iskra (2173 cars in January, dynamics are not given, sales of this model began only last summer). Mazda CX-5 crossovers imported from China (1,890 units, an increase of 15.5 times compared to January last year) and the Belarusian Belgee X50 (1,627 cars, +63.7%) complete the top ten.
Compared to January of last year, the number of car loans issued for the purchase of new cars decreased by 17% last month, but at the same time their volume increased by 11% in monetary terms, said Sergey Udalov. On the one hand, this indicates that banks are tightening conditions and requirements for borrowers, and on the other hand, it indicates an increase in car prices, he stressed.
Over the year, the weighted average price of a new passenger car increased by 13% and reached 3.5 million rubles, said Sergey Tselikov, General Director of Autostat. At the same time, in January 2026, compared with December 2025, the cost of cars decreased by 2.1%, he said.
Expected drop
The decline in car sales in the first month of this year was expected and predictable, says Igor Morzharetto, partner at Autostat. January is traditionally considered one of the most "disastrous" months in the car market.
— An additional factor was the active sales of cars in October-November last year. This has attracted some of the buyers who purchased the car earlier," he told Izvestia.
The results of the first month of the new year should not be considered a disaster, says Irina Frank, CEO of Frank Auto. Rather, this is a reflection of the market's adaptation to the new rules of the game in terms of lending while maintaining basic trends: localization, redistribution of shares and rationalization of demand, she believes.
— January is traditionally a "short" month due to the New Year holidays, which always distorts statistics downward. At the same time, new, stricter rules for issuing car loans came into force, which inevitably led to a significant compression of credit demand, especially in the mass segment," she noted.
At the same time, according to the expert, important and even encouraging signals are visible in the market structure. First of all, there is a high demand for locally assembled cars, which is emphasized by the second place of the Haval brand, and the entry into the top ten of new brands like Belgee and Tenet, she said.
— If 2025 was the year of glut and "subsidence" of prices, then 2026, apparently, will be the year of greater stability and balanced supply. There is no surplus of cars in warehouses, which put pressure on the market last year. This means that a sharp collapse in prices is not worth waiting for, and dealers and importers will work on marginality, not on turnover at any cost. In this sense, 2026 may become healthier and more predictable than the previous one," Irina Frank said in an interview with Izvestia.
Surprises of the car market
At the beginning of this year, the trend towards replacing Chinese-made cars with Russian ones continued, said Sergey Udalov. That is why, for example, the Chery brand, which previously confidently held the third and fourth positions, did not even enter the top ten in January, he explained. But Tenet cars, based on Chery models, immediately took the third place, the expert recalled. In his opinion, the Geely brand is still in the top 10, but primarily due to the Atlas and Monjaro models supplied through alternative channels. However, after the expected launch of production of these cars under the Russian brand, the Chinese automaker also risks leaving the top ten most popular car brands, says the executive director of Autostat.
— An unexpected surprise in January was a sharp increase in sales of Mazda cars, primarily CX—5 crossovers with an engine capacity of up to 160 hp, which are supplied to our country from China through alternative channels. Previously, this brand was not among the top ten most popular for a long time," said Sergey Udalov.
According to Irina Frank, Mazda's explosive sales growth clearly demonstrates the vitality and adaptability of alternative import channels, which are now increasingly working for a specific customer.
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