OREANDA-NEWS. August 11, 2010. According to data released by the Association of European Businesses for July 2010, sales of new cars and LCVs in Russia increased by 55,907 units (+47.7% YoY), which is only slightly (-1.0%) off June’s figures. For 7M10, auto sales have risen 8.8% YoY, which translates into 79,211 more sold units, reported the press-centre of OTKRITIE Financial Corporation.

View: We see these numbers as positive for the market. In spite of the traditional holiday period and the shortage of cars, sales in July nearly reached the level of June. We expect some decline in August sales due to work stoppages resulting from the adverse weather conditions that have been seen in the many Central Russian factories.

The emergency weather conditions in several regions of Central Russia should also adversely impact forthcoming sales figures. With the onset of autumn, we expect a revitalization of the market and continued growth through the end of the year. The main drivers of growth will be deferred demand and the second phase of the ‘cash for clunkers’ recycling program.