In March, sales of new passenger cars in Russia set a record in 2026

In the first month of spring 2026, 104.3 thousand new passenger cars were sold in Russia, which is 30.6% more than in March 2025. This is stated in the report of the analytical agency Autostat, which Izvestia reviewed on April 3. This result was the best since the beginning of 2026.

Lada still ranks first in the brand championship, accounting for about a quarter of the market (24.12%) in early spring. In quantitative terms, this amounts to almost 25.2 thousand copies sold, which is only 0.1% lower than a year ago.

The leadership among foreign cars belongs to the Chinese Haval, whose cars sold 14.8 thousand units in March. The Russian Tenet is on the third line (10.3 thousand), followed by Geely and Belgee (6346 and 5184 units, respectively).

The top ten brands also included Changan (3,393 units), Toyota (2,821 units), Jetour (2,593 units) and Jaecoo (2,417 units), as well as Solaris (2,131 units). Along with Lada, Changan also showed a decrease in March (-10.4%), while Toyota showed the largest increase (2.5 times).

According to the results of the first quarter of 2026, 264.9 thousand new passenger cars were sold in the Russian Federation, which is 7.3% more than in the three months of last year. During this period, Toyota gained the most (2.1 times). Only four brands were in the red: Geely (-4.4%), Jaecoo (-5.2%), Lada (-17.4%) and Changan (-40.7%).

Deferred demand, coupled with lower deposit rates, the release of a large number of new products to the market and attractive installment payment programs from manufacturers, contributed to sales growth, explained Dmitry Yarygin, deputy head of the analytics department at Autostat agency.

"Another important factor is the end of the quarter, when dealers traditionally try to fulfill sales plans in order to receive bonuses from manufacturers. Separately, I would like to note that along with mass-produced brands, sales of premium brand cars such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi increased quite significantly in early spring," the expert said.

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The day before, the Ministry of Industry and Trade noted that the car market in Russia is recovering modestly, and sales of domestic cars are steadily growing. According to Anton Alikhanov, the head of the ministry, much will depend on further steps in monetary policy, actions in the field of car loans and budgetary opportunities for the implementation of demand stimulation programs.

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