Dealers explained the decline in the Russian car market in January

In January 2026, sales of new passenger cars in Russia were 9.5% lower than in January last year. Negative dynamics in the market was recorded for the first time in the last three months. According to Nikolai Ivanov, director of the new car sales department at Rolf, the January result is explained by the factor of "washed out" demand for the future period, Autostat reports on February 13.

So, in the fourth quarter of last year, there was a sharp surge in consumer activity, demand was at a high level before the change in the rules for calculating waste collection and the increase in VAT. As a result, part of the volume that could have been in January has moved to the end of the year.

In turn, Dmitry Parshentsev, Director of new car sales at Major, pointed out that the key problem of the market in January was a significant restriction of preferential programs. The list of cars under the state program of preferential car loans has decreased, the situation has worsened due to the high loan rates and tougher approvals from banks, he believes.

In total, 80.6 thousand new passenger cars were sold in Russia in January. Demand was mainly provided by cars imported using the "old" recycling system, said Andrey Terlyukevich, General Director of Avtospeccenter Group of Companies.

Chill ran through: new car sales decreased by 9.5%

Major changes have taken place in the top ten most popular car brands

Earlier, on January 27, it was reported that in 2025, used car sales in Russia amounted to almost 6.24 million units. This is 3.3% more than in 2024. The Lada 2107 sedan has once again become the most popular model among used passenger cars, with 142.3 thousand units resold in the country by the end of the year.

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