Russian passenger car production rises 13.3% in 2012 to 2 mil. units

Increase achieved despite the country's biggest producer AvtoVAZ experiencing a decline in volumes as a result of increasing competition from foreign OEMs

Passenger car production in Russia increased at the accelerated rate of 13.3% year-on-year (y/y) in 2012 to 2 million units in, according to data compiled by the government statistics agency RosStat and reported by Skrin Newswire. According to the report, the increase in overall passenger car production was achieved despite the country's biggest producer AvtoVAZ experiencing a decline in volumes as a result of increasing competition from foreign OEMs in its domestic market. For the full year, AvtoVAZ's production volumes fell by 1.6% y/y to 718,917 units, this was despite the launch of two new models in the form of the Largus multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) and the new Granta entry-level model. Many of the foreign OEMs that are now manufacturing passenger cars in Russia posted record volumes during the year, with the Kia Rio hatchback, Chevrolet Malibu, Mazda CX-5 and Opel Astra proving particularly popular.