Year to date, sales of new passenger cars and LCVs in Russia amounted to 1,454,253 units – down 34.5% on the total of 2,220,751 for January to November 2014.

Joerg Schreiber, chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee, commented: “One year ago, the Ruble was plummeting and customers were storming dealer showrooms to put their money to use before car prices caught up with the new exchange rate reality. None of this happened in November this year, which explains the relative deterioration in year-on-year performance of the market. The year is not over yet, however expectations regarding December are rather modest, especially in comparison with the record sales achieved last year at the peak of a short-lived sales boom.”

In response, IHS Automotive said that the poor performance had been caused by a number of factors, not least the extremely difficult macroeconomic conditions Russia is currently facing. However, there was also a comparatively high base level from November last year as many buyers looked to counter the decline of the rouble by putting their cash into cars, while the scrappage scheme also had a positive influence.

For the full year, IHS Automotive forecasts a 34.8% y/y fall in sales to 1.63 million units, with sales down again in 2016 to 1.60 million units.