Russia to be largest European market

Automotive specialist R. L. Polk & Co. thinks Russia will be the largest new car market in Europe by 2010.

While the current leaders, Germany, Italy and the UK have stalled, demand in Russia is growing and reached 2.35 million new registrations in 2007

Demand has exploded by 140 percent since 2002, and future growth may reach 60 percent per year, resulting in 3.7 million new registrations by 2010, more than any country in Europe today.

Polk also thinks that current market leader Lada, a local car manufacturer, will continue to decline: they've gone from 70 percent in 2002 to 27 percent in 2007, and will drop to 20 percent in 2010.

"A number of manufacturers are now selling more new cars in Russia than in any other European country," said Ulrich Winzen, chief analyst, forecasting and consulting for Polk Germany. "For Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Kia and Chevrolet, Russia represents the strongest European market in terms of sales."

Read their news item here.

Tags: automotive, auto industry, automotive industry, Russia auto industry, R. L. Polk, Polk, Russia, Lada

Powered by Qumana