Amidst sanctions and global inflation, the Russian auto industry continues to soar, snubbing the Western market each month. After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, many automotive factories left the country, which was relentlessly exploited by Chinese manufacturers who gained massive revenues.

The Russian automotive industry struggled for only a few months in the rut created by Western sanctions, as in the past year, it has pulled out at breakneck speed and is now posting near record high numbers. Despite devastating global inflation, people are still eager to buy cars, with new car sales in Russia up 56 per cent year-on-year in the first ten months of 2023, surpassing the one million units sold mark, Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry announced.

A monthly break down shows even bigger rate increases: vehicle sales in Russia jumped by 148.6 per cent in September compared to the same month in the previous year, the Reuters news agency recently reported, citing Autostat data.

This past September, 110,358 autos were sold, compared to 44,398 in September 2022.

And July saw 168.8 per cent more motor vehicles sold compared to July of the previous year.

Russia’s auto industry has been heavily dependent on investment, equipment and parts from overseas and was hit hard by the fallout from Western sanctions. Sales plunged 59 per cent in 2022, and many foreign automakers left the country. The gap was filled by the Chinese, who took advantage of the opportunity and acquired a massive share of the Russian Federation market.

After Lada, the flagship of Russia’s leading carmaker Avtovaz, seven of the top ten positions by market share were occupied by Chinese automakers such as Haval, Chery and Geely.

Chinese companies have primarily moved into factories vacated by Renault and Nissan and are engaged in the assembly of vehicles, reports Reuters. Last week, Avtovaz raised its 2023 forecast for domestic sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles to one million from the previous estimate of 875,000.

In October, Avtovaz sold a total of 40,912 Lada cars and light commercial vehicles on the Russian market – more than twice as many as the year before. This is not only the best result of the year 2023, but also the new peak of the last ten years. Lada’s market share in the passenger car segment is estimated to be 40 per cent in October 2023. Until October of this year, Russian Lada dealers sold 283,464 vehicles, which is 98.4 per cent more than in the same period the previous year, the car manufacturer’s press department reported.