Russia’s car market was described as having “endemic volatility” for its never-ending boom-and-bust cycles since entering the post-Soviet era. But it hadn’t experienced a bust quite like the one that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sales have collapsed 60% in the first nine months of the year, compared with 2021, according to figures from the Russia-based Association of European Businesses.
The foreign brands so beloved of Russia’s rich and middle classes have largely halted both production and imports in response to sanctions put in place to punish Russia for its brutal war in Ukraine.
