R.L. Polk & Co. research shows Russia's automotive market is booming

The results of R.L. Polk & Co.'s most recent research project are in, and they show that the Russian automotive market is poised to become the largest automotive market in Europe by 2010. This represents 60 percent growth over the next three years, compared to the larger European markets which are projected to remain stagnant.

These results are contained in the current Russian automobile forecast developed by Polk's Essen, Germany-based market research and consulting operations.

Demand for cars in Russia has been strong. Approximately one million new cars were sold each year through 2002. During the last five years, demand for cars has grown by approximately 140 percent. In 2007, new car registrations in Russia exceeded the two-million mark for the first time. These 2.35 million new registrations put Russia in fourth place in Europe behind Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Future growth is estimated to be approximately 60 percent, which will result in approximately 3.7 million new registrations by 2010. This registration level exceeds every other European country today.

Within Russia, Lada's dominance as leading domestic automaker has been declining. New vehicle registrations attributable to Lada have decreased from approximately 70 percent in 2002 to 27 percent in 2007. It is estimated that by 2010 more than 80 percent of all new registrations will come from manufacturers other than Lada.

"A number of manufacturers are now selling more new cars in Russia than in any other European country," says 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."

Polk market researchers forecast the current demand to continue for the coming years. With stagnant sales in the traditional markets, German and European automotive manufacturers will be looking to the Russian marketplace to grow their car sales.

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