Russia’s light-vehicle market faces a long recovery

The Russian bear market continued in 2015, and IHS Automotive does not expect a quick recovery for the light-vehicle market in the country

The Russian light-vehicle market has been in what can be described as little short of a crisis for around 18 months now. The picture in 2015 was particularly bleak, with a perfect storm of negative macroeconomic influences combining to bring a 35.7% year-on-year (y/y) decline in the market during 2015 to 1.63 million units. This led to chaos on the ground as OEMs, suppliers and dealers struggled to cope with a market that shrank dramatically in size in a matter of months as private consumers became more and more cautious about spending on big-ticket items.