(Recasts with top-10 position, other details)
MOSCOW, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Russia edged into the world’s top-10 auto markets in 2020 due to a relatively small drop in sales as the pandemic battered other markets, the Association of European Businesses said on Thursday, citing preliminary data.
Sales in 2020 totalled just under 1.6 million vehicles, down 9.1% on 2019, AEB said, a fall that was cushioned by a post-lockdown rush to buy cars by customers worried by the weakening rouble, as well as cheap car loans and state support.
Russia moved to 10th from 12th place in a global car market ranking based on the number of sales, AEB said in a presentation that showed sales down in all major markets except South Korea.
(Recasts with top-10 position, other details)
MOSCOW, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Russia edged into the world’s top-10 auto markets in 2020 due to a relatively small drop in sales as the pandemic battered other markets, the Association of European Businesses said on Thursday, citing preliminary data.
Sales in 2020 totalled just under 1.6 million vehicles, down 9.1% on 2019, AEB said, a fall that was cushioned by a post-lockdown rush to buy cars by customers worried by the weakening rouble, as well as cheap car loans and state support.
Russia moved to 10th from 12th place in a global car market ranking based on the number of sales, AEB said in a presentation that showed sales down in all major markets except South Korea.
Russia s new-car sales rise for second straight month
Print
New-car sales in Russia rose by 5.9 percent in November to 157,580 vehicles. It was the second straight increase after a 2020-best gain of 7 percent increase in October, according to data from the Association of European Businesses. Since the summer, the weakened ruble has been pushing customer demand and, consequently, sales, Thomas Staertzel, chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee, said in a statement.
CLICK BELOW FOR RUSSIA DATA
However, sales were still down 10 percent to 1.35 million vehicles in the first 11 months of 2020 after sliding between April and August because of economic restrictions tied to the pandemic.