Ukraine Crisis Knocks down Russian Car Sales

We are seeing more warning signs that Ukraine Crisis is unsettling the economy. Association of European Businesses reports on Oct. 8 of 2014 that Russian car sales in September dropped 20% over 2013. According to the association, after the 25% drop in August, Russian car sales in September dropped an additional 197.233 thousand units, down 20.1% over 2013. Statistics show that Russian car sales of the first 3 quarters declined 13% (260 thousand units) over the same period in 2013.

The automotive manufacturing committee, subordinated to Association of European Businesses, said in a statement that in spite September sales driven by holiday demands  are slightly higher than August sales, the Russian automotive industry on the whole still look dim. Russian car sales in 2014 is estimated at around 2.45 million units, down 12% from 2.77 million units in the previous period. Almost all European major car makers have critical investments in Russia. In 2012 Russia has already become the second largest car market in EU, only second to Germany. However,  Since the summer of 2013, Russian car sales started to slope down with the economy. After the outbreak of Ukraine Crisis, the U.S. and Europe put economic sanctions on Russia, and consequently Russian car market dwindled even faster.