Up to now, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has not yet eased, the war is still intensifying, and the confrontation between Russia and Western countries has gradually spread from the military level to the economic level. What is the situation in the Russian automotive market today?
2021 Russian auto market sales list
Through the Russian car sales ranking in 2021, it can be intuitively seen that Russia's own brand Lada occupies a decisive weight, followed by Korean cars and Volkswagen. However, the Russian AvtoVAZ automobile manufacturing company to which Lada belongs was actually controlled by Renault as early as 2017. Therefore, the models that appear on this list are all foreign-produced, and the Russian automobile industry is not in its own hands.
In addition, the top 25 of this list do not have luxury brands. From this, it can also be read that the main consumer group in the Russian auto market almost only considers the family car. Luxury brands clearly don't have a good life in the Russian automotive market. It is no wonder that Ferrari directly stated recently: "Russia is a very small car market for Ferrari." ”
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the blockade of Russia by major car companies followed. The Russian auto market has experienced a new round of crisis since the Crimea incident.
Volvo fired the first shot
On February 28, a Volvo spokesperson said it would suspend the export of cars to the Russian market, making it the first car company in the world to take such action. The sensitive identity of Nordics, the birthplace of Volvo, also had to force it to take the lead. However, last year, the brand sold 699,000 vehicles worldwide, including only 9,000 in the Russian market, and the loss of this blockade to Volvo is completely negligible.
Volvo also did not "die" its opponent in its block statement. It stated that "trading with Russia carries potential risks, including sanctions imposed on it by the European Union and the United States," and said that "Volvo Cars will no longer deliver any cars to the Russian market until further notice." Volvo did not say bluntly that the move was a targeted sanction against Russia, and there was still room for relaxation between the two sides.
Volkswagen, Renault, GM and other car companies followed up the ban
Under Volvo's blocking action, Volkswagen, Renault, GM, Ford, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other car companies have also introduced corresponding blocking measures:
Ford announces suspension of russian operations;
THE BMW Group announced the suspension of Russian exports and automobile production;
Hyundai Motor announces the suspension of the St. Petersburg automobile assembly plant in Russia while suspending the delivery of cars to Russia;
Toyota Motor Corporation announced the suspension of Russian automobile production and the suspension of exports to Russia;
Honda Motor announced a moratorium on exports of cars and motorcycles to Russia;
Mazda announced the suspension of auto parts exports to its Joint Venture Plant in Russia;
Subaru announces suspension of exports to Russia;
Nissan Announced a Moratorium on Exports of Cars to Russia and a Suspension of its St. Petersburg Plant in Russia;
Mitsubishi Motors announces the suspension of production and sales of Russian cars;
GM announces suspension of Russian auto exports;
Volkswagen Group announces suspension of delivery of new vehicles to Russia and suspension of plants in Kaluka and Nizhny Novgorod, Russia;
Renault announced the suspension of its auto assembly plant operations in Moscow, Russia.
Volkswagen's sub-brands do not have exactly the same attitude towards the Russian auto market, and Volkswagen, which has two models on the list, the PETRO and Tiguan, has decisively suspended its auto business in Russia.
That's because volkswagen group's global sales of 8.882 million units in 2021 make it not feel that abandoning its business in Russia will cause much volatility.
However, Skoda, which is also a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, is in dire need of Russian market share to fill its global sales, after all, as Skoda's second largest automobile market, it can sell about 90,000 new cars in Russia every year, second only to Germany's 136,000 units and accounting for 10% of global sales.
As a result, soon after the Volkswagen Group announced the ban, there was a signal that Skoda would not block the Russian auto market for a long time.
To select the most injured of the Russian car brands in this sanction, it is Renault. Thanks to its controlling stake in the Russian automotive manufacturer AvtoVAZ, Renault has always held a leading position in the Russian automotive market.
In 2021, Renault has a market share of 38% in Russia (including AvtoVAZ). However, as a member of the founding power of "NATO", Renault can only bear to give sanctions.
Among the above-mentioned car companies, GM and Honda are two car companies that have no factories in Russia and have dismal sales of exported cars. The stance of banning Russia has done little to lose to them. However, this kind of action can win its reputation in Western countries, and such a cost-effective business is believed that no one will let go.
Luxury brand car companies such as Ferrari and Porsche followed up with the ban
The infiltration of politics into the tech sector is inevitable. At this point, whether you are a joint venture brand or a luxury brand, it is difficult to be spared. Almost at the same time that Volkswagen, Renault and other car companies introduced blocking measures, luxury brand car companies also gave their blocking measures:
Ferrari announced the suspension of exports to Russia and production of cars for the Russian market;
Lamborghini announces the suspension of trade with Russia;
Porsche suspends its plant in Leipzig, Germany;
Audi announces the suspension of some production lines at its plants in Ingolstadt and Neckasum, Germany;
BMW announced a moratorium on exports to Russia and a suspension of its Kaliningrad plant;
Daimler Trucks announces the suspension of its operations in Russia;
Mercedes-Benz announces suspension of exports to Russia and suspension of local production;
Aston Martin announced a moratorium on car exports to Russia and a moratorium on car sales in the country.
Ferrari also made it clear that Russia is a very small car market for Ferrari and claimed that the invasion of Ukraine had no impact on its supply chain. And Ferrari will publicly donate 1 million euros to the Ukrainian people in need.
The impact behind the sanctions
Volkswagen group has said it will be responsible for Russian employees, who will receive short-term compensation. But in the long run, the economic burden of a large number of unemployed people remains insoluble.
The jobs of employees in large multinational car companies are often very detailed, and today it is almost impossible to find a matching job under the massive wave of unemployment in Russian car factories. And such widespread unemployment will also lead to the continued instability of Russian society.