Support The Moscow Times!

Car Production in Russia Down 28% in 2015

A total of 1.2 million passenger cars were produced in Russia last year, down 27.7 percent compared to 2014, according to a report published by the Rosstat state statistics service on Monday.

In December, passenger car output declined by 38.9 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Rosstat data.

The decline comes amid a sharp decline in the demand for cars as a result of the weakening of the ruble and the falling purchasing power of Russians.

A total of 1.6 million new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in Russia in 2015, a 35.7 percent drop compared to the previous year, the Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the Association of European Businesses said in statement in January.

The slump in output has also been seen in commercial vehicles. Production of commercial vehicles fell by 14.7 percent to 131,000. The production of buses last year was at 36,700, down 17 percent compared to 2014, Rosstat data showed.

Read more