The expert assessed the impact of the ruble exchange rate on the Russian automotive market

The change in the ruble exchange rate will primarily affect cars that are supplied to the Russian Federation through alternative channels. At the same time, the machines that are already in dealers' and distributors' warehouses will not be directly affected by the short-term weakening of the ruble. The reason is that these cars were purchased at the previous exchange rate and have already generated their cost. This was announced on July 1 by Nikolai Ivanov, Rolf's New car sales director.

"It is important to take into account that the market has learned to work with fairly short stocks. On average, current balances for a number of models may last for several weeks, and new shipments will already be calculated based on the current exchange rate. Therefore, if the ruble gains a foothold at weaker levels, the next batches of cars for parallel imports may be more expensive," Rossiyskaya Gazeta quoted Ivanov as saying.

As for cars localized in Russian factories, there is no immediate direct dependence on the exchange rate, the expert noted. The prices of such models are influenced by the localization of production, cost structure, inventory, distributor policy, demand and competitive situation. As the specialist explained, even if some of the components for the production of a car depend on exchange rates, if they change, the adjustment of car prices usually takes place with a delay of several months.

As Ivanov noted, the weakening of the ruble may lead to an increase in the competitiveness of Russian-made cars relative to those supplied by alternative imports.

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In early July, the most likely range for the dollar will be the level of 76-80 rubles. Andrey Loboda, a member of the RASO and the AFD Expert council on the development of the over-the-counter financial market, told Izvestia on June 29. The euro is expected to trade in the range of 86-91 rubles, and the yuan exchange rate is likely to remain in the range of 11.2–11.9 rubles.