OREANDA-NEWS  Compared to December 2021, monthly sales of passenger cars decreased by 50.2%, to 64,072 units. The overall decline in sales year-on-year was 58.8%. 687,370 cars were sold in 2022, according to data from the Association of European Businesses (AEB). At the same time, 1.66 million cars were sold in Russia in 2021.

"The market capacity continues to be very high, and its potential remains high. We, as automakers, see and evaluate all this. I am sure that the situation will change. Maybe based on new rules and principles, but nevertheless," said Alexey Kalitsev, chairman of the AEB Committee of Automakers, during the annual press conference.

Mr. Kalitsev called the determining external factors for the development of the market in 2022 sanctions pressure, disruption of logistics chains and parallel imports.

According to AEB forecasts, the Russian market of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in 2023 may grow by 12%, up to 770 thousand units. "But no one in the world can predict the current situation," Alexey Kalitsev stressed.

After the start of the special operation, the Russian car market faced a crisis. Most of the light segment plants have stopped production due to problems with supply logistics and sanctions. A number of major foreign automakers, including Renault, Nissan, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, have ceased their activities in Russia. The number of brands present on the Russian car market has decreased from 50 in 2021 to 15 by the end of 2022.