OREANDA-NEWS  Sales of Lada cars by the end of April may reach 30 thousand units at best, which is a third lower than a year earlier. Maxim Sokolov, the head of AvtoVAZ, warned about a new sales failure, RIA Novosti reports.

In March, the company managed to sell 28.7 thousand vehicles, although in 2024 this figure was about 42 thousand. The manufacturer sees a dynamic decline in demand for cars in the country.

For the market as a whole, the drop is almost 50 percent, and if you clear the results from AvtoVAZ sales, then it's time to talk about 60 percent in annual terms.

Sokolov stressed that it's not even a matter of percentages, but of the difficulties faced by the domestic automotive industry against the background of such weak results. In his opinion, the government should significantly increase demand support.

In particular, we are talking about the resumption of the preferential car loan program for families with children. Sokolov believes that it will be possible to restart this format before the end of April. Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov confirmed that the initiative to increase the possibilities of granting preferential loans for the purchase of a car is being considered.

Last year, AvtoVAZ was one of the main proponents of a sharp increase in the recycling fee for cars (Russian manufacturers are compensated by the state) to combat the Chinese car industry. Sokolov pointed out that without this, domestic enterprises would not be able to compete with imports from China, and eventually the government agreed with his argument.

According to the results of the first quarter of 2025, sales of new passenger cars in Russia fell by 25 percent compared to the same period in 2024. In addition to a significant increase in car prices due to a multiple increase in recycling, the situation is affected by the record high key rate of the Central Bank, which has increased the cost of car loans.