The main reason is the overstocking of warehouses
At the beginning of 2024, prices for new cars began to decline in Russia, both from official dealers and for models from parallel imports. An Autonews.ru correspondent visited several Moscow car dealerships and was convinced that the cost of popular models had decreased. Experts attribute this trend to a change in the balance of supply and demand, noting the beginning of market overstocking, when supplies exceed sales volumes.
Head of the analytical agency «Avtostat» Sergey Tselikov and Deputy General Director for Sales of New Cars of AG «Avilon» Renat Tyukteev confirms information about price reductions in some dealerships. Tyukteev notes that since the beginning of January, some manufacturers have increased financial support to dealers in order to sell already delivered models at more attractive prices.
«This is due to the fact that the volume of delivered vehicles exceeds the two-month sales rate. The norm is the warehouse volume with a coefficient of 1.5. As a result, all support to dealers is given to the market, and a general impression is created that prices are falling», — Tyukteev emphasized. «In fact, the market is starting to become overstocked. They carry more than they sell, — Tselikov added.
According to Gracin Belenova, director of the sales department of AGR Automotive Group, the price decline is due to the increase in the number of cars in dealer warehouses and the high cost of financing. She also points to a decrease in purchasing power due to rising refinancing rates and the high cost of credit instruments, citing consumers' preference for opening deposits to generate passive income instead of purchasing cars.
Representative of the National Automobile Union (NAU) Anton Shaparin notes that Russian dealers have accumulated significant stocks, primarily of Chinese cars, due to obligations to buy a certain number of cars under contracts with auto companies. Shaparin estimates that stocks have currently reached 200 thousand cars, and adds that dealers, having «credit» money, tend to rush to sell, sometimes providing discounts to stimulate sales.
It was previously reported that in the warehouses of car dealers in Russia there is an increase in inventories of new cars. In particular, Chery and Haval dealers significantly reduced car prices.