Brisk economic growth, an expanding middle class and a taste for foreign brands have sent car sales rocketing in Russia and attracted a stable of foreign carmakers eager to fill demand with locally made products as well as imports.
With car sales in saturated western European markets expected to stagnate or fall this year, manufacturers are counting on Russia to take up the slack.
"The prospects for growth in East European car demand in 2007 look strong. However, the growth will come almost single handedly from Russia, where consumer demand is running hot," said Global Insight automotive market analyst Ewa Root.
"Indeed, with sales of foreign-brand cars in that market up by more than 50 percent, Russia will close the year at practically 2 million units, making it larger than the Spanish market and therefore the fifth-largest market in ... Europe," she said.
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