(Reuters) – Russia’s Soviet-era Moskvich car entered the country’s list of top 10 best-selling brands for the first time in November, data from Russian analytical agency Autostat showed on Tuesday.
November sales of new passenger cars in Russia increased by 113% year on year to 109,706 vehicles, Autostat said, citing data from its partner PPK. Sales are rebounding from a slump caused by sanctions and the departure of Western carmakers in 2022.
Production of the Moskvich was relaunched this year at a plant in Moscow. The Russian state purchased the factory from Renault last year for a symbolic one rouble as the French carmaker left the market after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sources have told Reuters that the Moskvich 3 model is a JAC Sehol X4 assembled in Moscow using kits purchased from a Chinese partner.
The Moskvich was ninth in the list of best-selling cars in November, having sold 1,910 for a 1.7% share of the market. Over the 11 months from January to November, 10,676 Moskvich cars were sold, the data showed.
Lada, Russia’s most popular car, led the way in November with 32,651 cars sold and a market share of 29.8%. Chinese cars hold most of the other positions on the list, replacing departing European and Japanese brands.
Chinese car sales appear to have peaked at more than 56% of the market as Russia’s domestic production recovers after the exodus of Western automakers, Autustat data shows.
According to Autostat, there were 939,254 new passenger cars sold in Russia in the past 11 months, up almost 65% year on year.
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Alexander Marrow and David Goodman)
