The largest foreign sellers
After a wealth of surprises in the first quarter, half a year may seem boring. Of course, we didn’t catch up with Germany, and we couldn’t - the gap in 300, 000 sold cars is insurmountably large. True, we have solidly come off the UK following us - about the same three hundred thousand. No surprises, all in full accordance with the dry figures showing growth compared to the previous year: the Teutons have 0.7%, we have 15.4%, the islanders 2.7%.
What else have we failed? Please - we have not been able to exceed the performance of the record year 2008. Then, over the past six months, 1, 405, 116 cars were sold, and now - 1, 340, 111. I did not set records separately in the second quarter, which also showed a general slowdown. Indeed, if in the first three months of 2012, 20.1% more cars were sold than in the same period of the previous year, then in April-June it was only 15.4%. Personally uninterested in juggling forecasts, the Land Rover-Jaguar marketers suggest that by the end of the year the market will grow by no more than 10%, and this statement sounds plausible. If they actually turn out to be right, then no sensations can be expected. Apparently, Price Waterhouse-Cooper analysts agree with the British.
Sales in Europe
And yet, even though we did not reach the heights of 2008, we got close enough to them - some 5% was not enough. This circumstance allows us to turn to statistics on completely legitimate grounds in order to get a clearer picture of the world. It turns out that the crisis has seriously changed the preferences of our fellow citizens. For the most part, market shares occupied by different classes remained roughly the same - the changes did not go beyond a couple of percent in one direction or another. But there are exceptions. The most popular golf class has lost 9.6% in four years, while the sphere of influence of crossovers and universal off-road vehicles has grown by 11.5%.
Probably, the drivers decided to deal with one of the two original troubles of Russia on their own: a significant clearance was a serious advantage not only on the roads, but also in cities where the quality of asphalt still leaves much to be desired. Automakers have also moved towards the aspirations of citizens, who have offered a wide selection of more or less budget options that instantly gained popularity - “Qashqai”, “Dzhuk”, “Tiguan” and “Duster”. Even AvtoVAZ did not remain aloof from the fashion trend and for the umpteenth time promised to show the concept of a crossover developed at the upcoming motor show with the help of Nissan-Renault Alliance specialists. On the other hand, the “golf” class itself, which rises in price with a frightening relevance, is pushing buyers to opt for “high” cars.
Hot ten
Another interesting fact. Foreign-made cars, but of Russian assembly, for the first time in the history of the domestic automobile industry, occupied more than half of the market, or rather - 51.8%. They were sold 694, 780 units, while the original Russian "Lada", "Niva" and UAZs were distributed in the amount of 300 220 copies. In 2008, the picture was radically different: imports accounted for 56.1%, cars with Soviet roots (27.1%) held second place, and only then did Russified foreigners come in a share of 16.8%. Who knows, maybe the factories worked to the fullest before the planned stop for the summer holidays. But one way or another, the breakthrough turned out to be fabulous: compared with the previous quarter, car production in Russia grew by almost 52%, and by no means at the expense of AvtoVAZ: the output of Nashi increased by only 27.9%, and in comparison with the first half of the year last year and completely lost 9.5%! Now it’s clear who is to blame for the fact that we could not set an absolute record this summer?
Domestic models
However, Lada does not give up: Kalina was able to get around the Logan / Sandero tandem. In fairness, it is worth noting that the sedan turned out to be the weak link in the spark, and it was not through any fault of its own that the Duster partially pulled out the production capacity. Nevertheless, among foreigners, the French brothers hold a strong leadership. Up to fifth place in the top, no changes have occurred, but then the intrigue begins: Cruz and the old woman Nexia overthrew the Octavia. Petersburg “Astra-J” closed the top ten, during the year methodically making its way up from the depths of the rating; but the “Dzhuk”, in April, showing off on the eighth line, flew out of dozens of winners already in 15th place.
Nissan was not lucky this summer: it began the year as a leader, and now it is only fifth, despite a quite decent growth of 34%. But of the 14 models presented in Russia, in the II quarter only “Nout” and “Qashqai” were able to achieve serious growth, while the others either rose slightly, or even went negative. Among the losers were FIAT and SEAT, as well as Khaimah.
Quarterly production
The attacking Chinese signed up for the record holders: Cherie and Geely have more than tripled over last year, and Great Wall has shown a 119 percent increase in sales. In the company of accelerators, a short-run “Jeep” was also crowded. Volkswagen continues to do pretty good: most models diverge quite vividly - especially the Polo Sedan. And Renault was perched on the top line, driven by its hits Logan and Sandero with the active support of Duster, Fluence and Megan.
In general, the Russian automobile market does not yet show clear signs of stagnation that has swept Europe. But our economy is quite pebbled, and a sharp drop in oil prices in a single moment can lead to utter chaos. Forecasts are a thankless task, so we live quietly for ourselves and enjoy this day.
Market structure at the place of production
Small class
Fighting Affection
Renault Sandero
Renault Sandero Renault Sandero Renault Sandero
It seems that the French managed, if not to break, then at least a little to shake the persistent attachment of our man to sedans. Inside the pair that settled in first place, the leadership of Logan is no longer so undivided. "Sandero" is slowly reducing the gap - 27, 979 cars against 37, 272. True, both have been spoiled by the game "Duster", cluttered on their favorite assembly lines. The new Aveo entered the seventh position, while the cheap Matiz is still far ahead of its more noble and modern successor Spark. In addition to the “Geely MK”, among the fifteen best were two more Chinese - “Smiley” and “Bonus” / “Veri”, and in the last pair the share of the hatchback accounted for exactly half of the sales.
Small class
Golf Class
Is Russia a hatchback country?
Ford Focus
“Focus III” continues to maintain its advantage over competitors, despite the change of generations. Sales of “Cruz” are growing rapidly, “Lifan-Solano” moved in the off-season from 14th to 13th place. The Frenchman C4 followed him, a year ago he was already vegetating on line 20. She managed to return to the top three unkillable Nexia. While expensive golf-class cars are losing customers, who are more likely to prefer low-cost crossovers to them, cheap cars, on the contrary, are gaining popularity. By the way, not only among kids, but here sedans are gradually getting out of fashion. Among the “Focuses” there are only 43% of them, the “Lacetti” - 35%, and the newly appeared Cruz hatchback already provides 30% of the sales of this model.
Golf Class
Middle class
Confused stock
Ford Mondeo
Superbly balanced in terms of price and quality, the Mondeo is gradually losing its solid margin of safety - the Passat is getting closer to it. BMW 3 Series temporarily gave the battlefield to the full disposal of the C-Class. But the Bavarian has a good reason: a new generation car has just appeared. However, if you add up its indicators and the indicators of its predecessor, then the "three rubles" will be in 9th place even without the help of coupes and convertibles of the same series. The “Optima” of the fresh spill was to the taste of the customers, rising to the sixth line - three months ago it was the eleventh. The Japanese in this class played in different directions - “Legacy” dropped to three positions, and “Accord”, on the contrary, rose to five.
Middle class
Business Class
The will of chance
Toyota Camry
If there is an unconditional leader in a certain segment, it is in the business class: neither a generation change, nor a permanent rise in price can shake the position of Camry for a year. The next seven places were distributed the same as three months ago. The new GS overtook four competitors and fell in behind the A7. Another troublemaker in the second tier was the Jaguar-XF, ahead of the CLS. What can hardly be considered a trend: the number of sales of these cars is small, and therefore is heavily influenced by any chance.
Business Class
Micro, compact and minivans
Shakiness and faltering
Nissan Nout
It’s not the first year that the "palm" belongs to the palm. At the beginning of the year, the Japanese microven, however, retreated a little, but later managed to regain the title of pack leader. True, his situation remains very precarious, as sales continue to fall. The newcomer to Orlando - the opening of the previous quarter - could not hold the first place, having also let Zafira forward. The Peugeot 3008 never let it get ahead of the boring Golf Plus. The 12th place broke through the Stuttgart family Vito / Viano, and the Ford Es Max, which recently closed the list of the top fifteen, fell to 17th place. The best result compared to last year was shown by Multivan - 332.7% of sales growth.
Micro, compact and minivans
Compact crossovers
Shaved off the upstart
Nissan Qashqai
An experienced Qashqai fighter still shaved off the Dzhuka upstart, stopping him in the honorable second place. An intricate-looking crossover was dangerously close to the Tiguan, combining German solidity and a sane price tag. "Sporting" switched places with RAV4, and well protected itself from competitor attacks. “Duster”, attractive in appearance and affordable, went to the 8th place, and he clearly does not intend to rest on his laurels. Prevent the triumph of the Russian Frenchman can only a lack of capacity at the Renault, which is already clearly felt. Surprisingly, the expensive “Iwok” continues to stubbornly go fifteenth, not inferior to neither the Chinese “MK-Cross” nor the Bavarian X1.
Compact crossovers
Medium and Large Crossovers
Not foreseen
Mitsubishi Outlander
Mazda-CX-7, which is about to be discontinued, is gradually leaving the stage. Outlander has a dual position: despite many years of leadership, he recently underwent an update, and now it’s hard for us to predict how the new car will be accepted on the market. After a temporary retreat to fifth position, Santa Fe returned to second place. “Sorento” not only without special efforts is kept on a pedestal, but also shows good growth rates. XC60 and XC90 did not stop there in the first quarter and are striving higher, having won two and three places respectively. But the Bavarian X3 could not confirm its right to the seventh position, rolling a couple of steps down: probably, the price of a luxury crossover scares off a mass buyer.
Medium and Large Crossovers
Universal and professional off-road vehicles
Asian neighborhood
Land Cruiser Prado
Prado and Grand Vitara are still the best in sales. The Land Cruiser walked past Kyron, squeezed past him at the beginning of the year, and now the Korean is adjacent to the Chinese Hover. “Nissan” was unlucky again: the “Patrol”, which climbed to 11th place, again rolled back to its rightful 14th, which it occupied a year ago. “Lexus-LX”, temporarily dropped out of the top 15, re-established itself on the previous 11th line. The last crediting place went to Cayenne, and the sales level of the Range Rover and QX did not allow them to compete on equal terms with the pathos “German”. Breaking into 13th position, Grand Cherokee contributed a significant contribution to the overall success of the Jeep with its 275.6% growth.
Universal and professional off-road vehicles
Passenger cars
Obedient to magic
Mitsubishi-L200
Back in April, the Hi-Lax truck was in 8th place, and now it has perked up and even began to mark the chairmen, seriously threatening the once unattainable L200. The Amarok, which went head to head with Toyota at one time and even sometimes overtook it, was stuck on the 6th stage conquered in the first quarter. Obeying the magic of corporate procurement, Doblo Panorama changed fifth place to ninth. Two “Nissan” did not show outstanding results, but in the absence of real competitors from below, they practically maintained their positions, except perhaps by letting the next “Chinese” forward - Great Wall Wingle.
Passenger cars
Luxury class
They are far from the people
Mercedes-Benz-S
Like three months ago, only the Korean Ekus retained high growth rates: perseverance and zeal helped him overtake XJ and play another place. The next “Porsche” in terms of growth slowed down somewhat and, as a result, did not improve its achievements. In general, sales of cars of this pathos and very few class are stable - or, to be extremely precise, show a steady tendency to reduce sales.
Luxury class
Coupe, convertibles and grand tourism
The poor are also happy
Kia Cerato Cup
The Korean coupe for the poor “Kia-Cerato” - not only easily entered the first place, but also left behind. Clear business - its price is not comparable with the prices of classmates. The second position is traditionally followed by Audi-A5. The glamorous version of the BMW 3 Series was late with an update: the new generation of the three-wheeler is already on sale, and the coupe with the convertible are depreciatingly aging in showrooms. The result is appropriate: the fourth line in the ranking instead of last year's second. The extravagant RCZ and the charming MX-5 in the last three months have lost three places, and the Lexus-IS250C - as many as five. Z4 also does not get along, which step by step approaches the fateful line summed up under the 15th row of the table.
