Russian passenger car production declines 2.9% y/y in January-April

Russian vehicle market slowing due to weakening macroeconomic confidence and falling value of the Russian currency

Passenger car production in Russia fell by 2.9% year on year (y/y) during the first four months of the year to 613,000 units, according to the Federal State Statistics (RosStat) with the data reported by the Interfax news agency. The passenger car production figure in April was 2.8% y/y down on March 2014's figure and 0.2% y/y down on the equivalent month in 2013. Russia's truck production experienced a strong decline in the January to April period, influenced strongly by the overall economic downturn in the country, with production down by 23.3% y/y to 47,100 units. Russian bus production fell during the period at an even faster rate, posting an 11% y/y fall to 11,100 units.