They turned on the rear: sales of new cars in August decreased by 6.5%
After the record July figures, the Russian new car market has rolled back. The decrease is not particularly large yet — only 6.5%. Dealers and experts believe that positive sales dynamics should not be expected by the end of the year. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
The cars rolled away
During the last summer month, 114,285 new passenger cars were sold in Russia. Such data is provided by the analytical agency Autostat, based on the number of issued EPTS. This is 6.5% lower than in July, when a record was set since the beginning of the year, and 17.4% less than in August last year, the agency's analysts say. A total of 845,000 new passenger cars have been sold in Russia since January, which is 9.3% more than in the eight months of last year.
The market situation is developing according to the scenario announced at the beginning of the year, said Sergey Udalov, Executive Director of Autostat.
— Obviously, in the future we will go into the negative. The whole question is how big this "minus" will be. The market is not very strong yet," he said during the online conference "Autostat. RAM".
Dmitry Yarygin, the agency's leading analyst, explains the August decline in sales by the fact that the second half of last year was marked by a noticeable increase in the number of cars purchased. Against this background, the current results are slightly worse than last year's. The expert noted that in August, the share of models assembled at domestic car factories increased by 2% compared to July and amounted to 64%.
At the same time, according to the results of last month, Autostat recorded a slight (up to 11%) decrease in the share of hybrids and electric cars in the new car market. According to Dmitry Yarygin, this is primarily due to the shortage of such cars in car dealerships.
— Dealers have practically no hybrid and electric models left. As a rule, they are delivered only on order," he said.
Sergey Udalov called the August trends a decrease in the share of cars purchased by legal entities, as well as a decrease in the volume of car loans issued for the purchase of new cars: by 10% in quantitative terms and by 6% in monetary terms.
The magnificent "ten"
Lada retained its leadership in the Russian market last month, selling 27,061 new cars. Haval took the second place and the title of the most popular foreign brand with a score of 14,547 cars. On the third line is the Russian Tenet, whose models sold 12,167 units in August. China's Geely (6,560 cars) and Changan (6006 units) complete the top five with a significant gap from the leaders.
The top 10 also includes Belarusian Belgee, which sold 4,414 cars last month, Chinese Jetour (4,081 copies), as well as Japanese Mazda (3,194 cars) and Toyota (3,133 cars), which are supplied to our country exclusively through alternative channels. The Russian brand Jeland, which appeared on the market earlier this year, took the last place with a result of 2,356 cars sold in Russia, entering the top ten most popular brands for the first time.
Last month, only the "alternative" Mazda (an increase of 4.6 times) and Toyota (+4.6%) showed positive dynamics. The rest of the brands "went into negative territory" — Lada recorded the smallest decrease (-2%), Belgee sank the most (by 43.5%).
The Lada Granta family dominates the model structure of the market — 10,659 cars sold in August, which is 17.4% lower than last year's result. The Haval Jolion crossover is in second place (6,258 cars), the Tenet T7 has bronze (6,088 cars). This is followed by Lada Vesta (5,372 units) and another Tenet model T4L (4,596 units). The second five is opened by Lada Iskra, which debuted a year ago and was purchased by 3,179 buyers in August. Niva Travel is in seventh position with a result of 3,109 cars sold. Completing the top 10 are Mazda CX-5 (2,965 cars), Belgee X50+ (2,9 thousand units) and Haval M6 (2,691 cars).
It is noteworthy that in total, sales of essentially identical Tenet T7 and T4L in August turned out to be 25 units more than those of the long—term leader, Lada Granta. According to Igor Morzharetto, an auto expert and partner at Autostat, this may indicate that buyers are still trying to choose more modern models.
— The Granta is currently the most affordable car on the market. It's simple, maintainable, but still not a young car anymore. And to a greater extent, this is a "regional" model — in megacities, its sales are minimal," he notes.
Tenet's good performance was the result of the combination of two models, which account for 85% of the brand's sales, said Nikolai Ivanov, director of the New Car Sales Department at Rolf Group. According to him, the company gave two different "entrance tickets" to one wide audience. This strategy allowed the combination of T7 and T4L to reach the level of a long-term market leader, the expert noted.
— Tenet did not "bump heads" two similar models, but put them on different rungs of the same price ladder. If the customer is not ready for the price of T7, the brand can offer him T4L — and the buyer does not go to a competitor," said Nikolai Ivanov.
What should the market expect?
The situation with new car sales is developing according to forecasts that were given back in the spring, experts interviewed by Izvestia note.
— The current result was quite predictable: against the background of last year's autumn surge, the market shows a slight negative trend, — says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine.
According to him, by the end of the year, the monthly market will be in the range of 110-115 thousand. Thus, on an annual basis, sales volumes will reach the level of last year and amount to about 1.3 million cars, he believes.
Igor Morzharetto calls the same figures. However, this will be possible if the current economic and regulatory situation in the country is maintained, he emphasizes.
Against the background of the temporary growth that the market has demonstrated in the last three months, we should not expect a sharp drop, says Anton Gureev, Commercial Director of the Interleasing Group. According to him, the current decline is caused, among other things, by high demand for cars in July, the situation on the fuel market, seasonal and calendar factors — many postponed the purchase until the end of the holiday season and the restoration of business activity.
— In addition, state subsidies were suspended in August, which also had an impact on demand. In early autumn, we can expect positive dynamics, especially if the Central Bank decides to lower its key rate at the September meeting," he told Izvestia.
There is room to grow
August is about vacations and school preparation, and in the fall and towards the end of the year, the market is likely to revive, Nikolai Ivanov believes. In comparison with the strong autumn months of 2025, a downward trend is possible, he believes. However, the year-on-year decline does not mean that sales will continue to fall from month to month, the expert stressed.
— For the first time in the last four years, the seasonality that the market has been accustomed to for twenty years has returned. Now we see a very smooth market. When it changes to 5-6 thousand cars per month, it is not a shock for the key players and for the business. After several turbulent years, the market is becoming more predictable," Rolf Group Director of New Car Sales shared his observations with Izvestia.
The company expects about 128-130 thousand cars sold by the end of September. Further, according to Nikolai Ivanov's forecasts, the market is able to add about 5-7 thousand cars per month.
— Therefore, year-on-year statistics may still look like a "minus", but the market will grow within a year. Our forecast for 2026 is about 1.3 million vehicles, which is about the same as last year," he said.
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