The top 10 brands in Russia and their struggles.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
New vehicle sales have been a mess in all countries for the past two years – in the US, they were down 25% in June compared to June 2019 – hampered by supply issues, semiconductor shortages, and various lockdowns, including the lockdowns in Shanghai that are further messing up supply chains. For some European automakers, Russia’s invasion and bombing of the Ukraine disrupted the flow of components from the Ukraine.
But new vehicle sales in Russia are in a category of their own, in terms of how far they collapsed and what chaos they face.
In June, sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) plunged by 82% from June last year to 27,761 vehicles, after having plunged by 84% in May and by 79% in April, according to the Russia-based Association of European Businesses, which collects and reports the data on this industry. Auto production in Russia has been thrown into chaos that far transcends the supply chain snags that are dogging auto production in other countries.
The top 10 brands in Russia.
Based on their 2021 sales volume, these are the top 10 brands in Russia, along with the number of vehicles they sold in June 2022, and the percent decline from June 2021:
| Rank in 2021 | Brand | June sales | % YOY |
| 1 | Lada | 7,484 | -81% |
| 2 | Hyundai | 2,685 | -86% |
| 3 | Kia | 3,703 | -80% |
| 4 | Renault | 1,834 | -86% |
| 5 | VW | 671 | -93% |
| 6 | Skoda | 659 | -93% |
| 7 | Toyota | 387 | -95% |
| 8 | GAZ LCV | 2,710 | -42% |
| 9 | Nissan | 473 | -88% |
| 10 | Haval | 1,637 | -53% |
Automakers in Russia are dependent on imported components, particularly those involving electronics, and the flow of those components, already stressed for the entire industry globally, was thrown into utter chaos due to the sanctions.
AvtoVaz, which owns Lada, is Russia’s largest automaker. It is majority-owned by Alliance Rostec Auto BV, which in turn is owned by the Renault and the Russian company Rostec. The company also makes Russian versions of models from Renault and Nissan.
Renault said in May that it would sell its 69% stake in AvtoVaz and its factory in Moscow to the Russian government. The deal included an option to buy back its stake over the next six years. Terms were not disclosed, but Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov indicated that the deal could be conducted for a symbolic one ruble, according to the AP, citing Russian media reports.
Renault CEO Luca de Meo said at the time that “we are making a responsible choice towards our 45,000 employees in Russia, while preserving the Group’s performance and our ability to return to the country in the future, in a different context.”
AvtoVaz said earlier this year that it would produce only Lada models with less foreign content and forget about airbags, electric power steering systems, and antilock brakes. It halted production in late April and in May due to component shortages, but resumed production on June 8 of the Lada Granta.
But this Granta would be a stripped-down version with fewer imported components. It is “the most affordable new car on the Russian market,” the company said, according to Tass. “The model was developed for the purpose of providing as much vehicle localization as possible, excluding the effect of imported components’ shortage.”
Kia and Hyundai said in April that they would continue assembling vehicles at their plants in Russia. But they halted assembly operations because of component shortages, particularly electronic components. At the end of May, they resumed production, but at a much smaller volume and with parts missing and with unfinished vehicles piling up, waiting for the components to show up.
Volkswagen, owner of VW and Skoda, among others, said in March that it halted production until further notice at its Kaluga plant, which it owns, and at the Nizhny Novgorod plant, which is owned by GAZ Group, which assembles some VW models under contract. At the time, Volkswagen also said that it would halt exports of vehicles to Russia.
Nissan shut down production at its plant in St. Petersburg in March. In May, it disclosed that it had written off its ¥52.6 billion investment ($500 million) in Russia. At the end of June, it extended its production halt for another six months.
GAZ, a Russian company, produces commercial vehicles, buses, and power trains, including light commercial vehicles (LCVs), such as vans, that are included here.
Haval, a Chinese automaker, which makes several models at its plant in the Tula region, said in April that it would continue producing vehicles in Russia. It’s struggling with the same supply issues all automakers are, and sales have plunged by 53%, but that was less than the collapse among other brands, and it more than doubled its market share to 5.9%. Other Chinese automakers are now also eying the Russian market.
US automakers left in 2019 mostly…
GM exited production in Russia in 2019 when it sold its 50% stake in a joint venture to its partner AvtoVaz. The venture had produced vehicles under the Chevrolet brand. From that point on, GM only exported a small number of vehicles to Russia, which it now halted.
Ford, also in 2019, shut down passenger vehicle production at Ford Sollers, a joint venture in Russia. Ford Sollers, of which Ford holds only a minority stake, then only produced Ford-branded commercial vans. In March, it suspended production of the vans.
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First they leave Moscow, and then they leave Alabama.
Opposite. Automakers and component makers are still setting up factories in Alabama, including Toyota which just announced that it would invest $222 million to expand engine production in Alabama.
E-S-G, but you make a good point, foreign companies are sometimes less concerned with corporate governance in overseas operations, (esp the Japanese) a post colonial artifact probably. Not sure how much security these plants have, but one good mass shooting at an auto plant and these guys are gone. Are those ICE engines?
Auto makers have been in Alabama for thirty years. It’s not got anything to do with whatever vague point I can’t parse from your comment. They get big tax breaks and infrastructure investment.
I think Mercedes Benz was the first to set up there, on I-59 between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, which is why you see the logo so often during Alabama football broadcasts.
Yes, ICE.
Who was that guy they called “Senator Toyota” who was against the big three bail out? Can’t even remember State, but it was in the south.
Guess he had given up on so-called “American Ingenuity”?
They’ll probably be self-sufficient in no time; they have the scientific and technical capabilities and educated population that it takes. A country like Russia will be able to adjust to imposed war-economy, unlike the West where everybody just whines if things are not perfect. For now if they can’t get the tech stuff they’ll just continue to revert to pre-overtech. As self-sufficiency builds they can restore the fancy stuff.
I loved my Ladas – had four of them during the ’80s, one was dual-fuel, propane and gasoline. Hard to start propane in cold weather (then, anyway, don’t know about now) so you started on gas and switched to propane (35 cents a gallon) when it was warmed up. Simple to work on, like an old-fashioned car and you could go anywhere in the bush. Never got stuck, sort of like my ’56 Chev standard 6, my all-time favorite.
I was in Costa Rica for 1988. Yes, 35 years ago. I rented a brand new Lada in San Jose. The exterior looked like it had been painted by kindergarteners with a broom. The material used on the dashboard, which is supposed to be “under” the interior trim piece of the windshield didn’t. Left about 1/2 inch, more and less along said windshield piece. Ugh! The car did start and did make several trips to Limon to check on my banana exports as the year wore on. The Lada was my first experience with Russian quality. Meh, at best
Hkack
Better than ‘YOUGO” from former Yugoslavia, right?
Ah yes, the Yugo, the cutting edge of Serbo-Croatian technology, aptly described as a pop can on a roller skate.
No. Not better. They were similar POSs in different packages. Lads was an awful vehicle and yet best USSR could make.
I went to Jamaica in the early 80’s as a college graduation getaway.
The cars on the road were primarily Ladas. There were also Japanese brands and a few higher end German brands. Despite it being the Buy American era, there weren’t any US cars. Jamaica was heavily trading with Russia during the height of the Cold War.
I asked a Lada taxi driver and he said:
1) Jamaica was trading mining ore with Russia for cars so Ladas were cheap.
2) Japanese cars were also cheaper at the time.
3) Mercedes were for the wealthy but also were far superior in surviving the salty humid air.
When I went back for a wedding in 2005, the Ladas were all gone (probably rusted away). They were all replaced by newer Japanese brands. Japanese cars had gained more endurability during that time. ie thicker metal. I still didn’t see any US cars.
I’ll bet you the car is still running.
And don’t forget that 35 years ago it was the Soviet Union (not Russia).
As with any socialist country nobody gives a s.it about quality.
“we pretend to work while they pretend to pay us”.
It seems America is going this way while Russia is exiting it.
Way over my head.
But I do think you and Jdog could start a blog. Maybe call it “Cross Street”?
An educated citizenry is very dangerous to a despot.
It is in the interest of tyrants to reduce the people to ignorance and vice. For they cannot live in any country where virtue and knowledge prevail.
– Samuel Adams
No, I do not want to talk about Fox News.
Then talk about the idiots at MSNBC and CNN – that should take you a couple of months.
“talk about the idiots at MSNBC and CNN”
They’re dumbing it down for your benefit. Show some appreciation.
Doesn’t hurt the program a bit to keep the shit scared out of them, also. Adams missed that part.
“I loved my Ladas”
Robert, are you in Canada? I know that they were imported there for years. I always wanted to buy one, kind of a poor man’s exotic, but now they’re priced way too high as a used-cars (for a novelty). That and the original SAAB 92.
Tough rigs!
Yes, Canada. They were 1500 bucks.
I remember the 80’s the Lada, Skoda and Dacia weren’t fit to be driven. In Canada no one would buy any of them.
If we assume the “Cold War 2.0 with New Iron Curtain” perspective…
It’s now a race to see which bloc can get their product types and supply chains back in order first.
Still waiting for the new models from Western producers that have finally gotten past their overdependence on allegedly-irreplaceable chips from bottlenecked suppliers…
Robert – I too was an owner of a Lada – Lada 1600 to be precise – but not by choice, but rather by necessity. I hope by now you have experienced a finer car. Cars – expensive or inexpensive – can be marvels of engineering, achievements of human kind. Ladas were nothing more than cheap copies of Italian cars because that’s all Soviets could do well – steal IP. And we all know how Fiat did here in the US at that time. So hope you got to drive some nicer cars in your lifetime than a cheap copy of a crappy car.
Fiat licenced the design to be produced in the USSR; what the Soviets did was beef up the engine and other features. And they did start in the winter, unlike many or most foreign cars at the time, including and especially Fiat (I owned a couple of those too – horrible if you’re in a cold climate, but fun in the summer).
Like a lot of foreign cars (including Japan) during the era the big problem with Lada was rust, so lotsa rustproofing needed, and any body screws – they rusted too. Maybe they didn’t use salt on the roads in the USSR; I don’t know.
The big hate for Lada and the USSR (for a while anyway) began after KAL 007 was shot down.
I have only driven American cars since the late 1980s, Lincoln and Cadillacs, so I went domestic when everyone went foreign. Before that I mostly only drove foreign. Contrarian.
Not true. they built a lot of no frills, tough, cheap, and easy to maintain really high performance aircraft. And were damned good with rockets and spacecraft, too. And of course, legendary small arms.
Depends what you mean by becoming self-sufficient in no time. It’s not a quick path, but 5-7 years is a time horizon in which the Russian economy can measureably become more resilient and return to organic GDP growth, especially if the oil income remains high. The sanctions may backfire in the sense that a constant lack of supplies in the long term will develop robust domestic supply chains.
“They’ll probably be self-sufficient in no time; they have the scientific and technical capabilities and educated population that it takes. ”
I’d correct that to say that Russia “did” have those capabilities up to maybe a year ago, but the exodus of Russian professionals and technical workers has been so tremendous esp since Putin’s blundering invasion that the country is rapidly losing those sci and tech capabilities. Our associates in the EU are reporting that millions of Russians have crossed over into Europe seeking asylum or getting other visas–in fact many of the “Ukrainians” crossing into ex. Poland or Hungary are actually Russians who’ve deserted, removing their uniforms and finding random clothes on clothes lines in eastern Ukraine–and there may be more than 10 million Russians leaving depending on how long the war goes. And the EU can never send them back, due to concerns about getting drafted or persecution. France and Germany alone have already gotten millions, so many that earlier migrant waves (from Syria and North Africa) are being pushed out of those countries back home (or here to the US–from a friend of the DHS, a big proportion of the Moroccan immigrants to the USA this year are coming from France, Holland and Belgium instead of direct from Morocco).
Plus millions more Russians leaving for South America and neighboring countries like China or Kazakhstan. Putin’s begging for 60-year old men to enlist because younger Russians don’t want to sacrifice themselves for an offensive war on dumb pretences–younger Russians don’t want to have their hard won careers and hard work account for peanuts due to all the repercussions from an ill conceived aggressive war. A war of invasion these days especially is a disaster before it starts since you can’t hide anything anymore, and when you become the aggressor, everyone sees the atrocities. That applies to the US too–the war in Iraq is likely going to cost us more than $6 trillion by the time all the costs and veterans injuries are accounted for, and it’s a big contributor to our national debt and financial struggles now. It wrecked a lot of our soft power and now Putin fell into the same trap–a lesson he should have also learned from the USSR’s disastrous blunder in Afghanistan too (and ours for that matter as well).
Russia has fancy stuff? Sometimes I get on Google Maps and hit up the street view. I can never, ever find the nice neighborhoods. Every house looks like it’s facing an alley. Zero landscaping, no sidewalks. People are earning $16K per year? No wonder their cars have 87 hp. Where’s the fancy stuff? I know there are some billionaires.
Did Ford and GM know something we didn’t.
No, but they were losing a lot of money in Russia. GM also sold Opel a few years ago. GM is focused on China, it’s biggest market. It always lost money in Europe. Ford has had a tough ride in Europe too.
T-72 sales, however, have been brisk.
Check out our scratch and dent models!
I wonder if this is good for China, who could probably replace many of the sanction-blocked component manufacturers.
But then, how big of a market can they really expect going forward if they gear up to fill the void?
The PRC produces more cars than any other country in the world and is the largest vehicle market in the world and will be happy to meet any and all demands for vehicles in Russia over the coming years and decades and centuries.
Ditto the oil trade.
But…if Russian paranoia vis a vis the US extends to invading Ukraine to protect Moscow (Russia is really big on buffer states…) then just imagine the Russian leadership’s bottom line view of the 1.2 billion Chinese (with the fastest growing, resource limited, economy in human history) just to the south of Russia’s very, very thinly populated eastern 75% (Siberia).
Mongolia is the buffer state there, but 1.2 billion Chinese with a booming economy has got to be the greatest worry (by far) in Moscow.
But there isn’t much Russia dares to do about *that*.
Russia and China will trade (to a point) but the knives are always unsheathed behind their backs. There are no more realpolitik nations than those two, sharing a continent.
Except that China has the world’s fastest shrinking population with the worst dependency ratio.
You might be overestimating the Chinese.
Since the Treaty of Nerchinsk.
Europe shares the same continent.
And India too.
It’s called Eurasia.
“Except that China has the world’s fastest shrinking population with the worst dependency ratio.”
No, it doesn’t. China’s population is still growing though at low rate, and contrary to a lot of other myths, China actually gets a lot of immigration, though mostly regional (from Vietnam, Philippines, Korea) and from overseas Chinese or their kids returning. And Western countries have our own dependency ratio problems. We’ve had a lot of contracts working in China over the years, and it’s amazing how much terribly bad misinformation and misconceptions are mentioned by US media about the country–that’s not a place to underestimate. It’s never a good idea to be so off the mark about such another major power (and trading partner).
“Mongolia is the buffer state there, but 1.2 billion Chinese with a booming economy has got to be the greatest worry (by far) in Moscow.”
1.4 billion Chinese, but no, this really isn’t an issue in Russia–the Sino-Soviet conflicts were 50 years ago, and if anything Russia and China have gotten along unusually well with the size of their border. Most such countries have had dozens of wars, but Russia and China haven’t, just small scale conflicts before. China had never really settled the Amur region (Nerchinsk treaty), the Manchus never wanted Chinese there and it was too remote to settle anyway–and it was Russia that built China’s best railroads in the region. Russia’s far east economy is China dependent, and Russia loves having China as counter-balance to the US.
I’d just add, on the China dependency ratio issue–not only is it exaggerated by a lot of Western media (when we have our own issues on that) neglecting to mention China’s immigration and policy changes, the US media esp totally misunderstands the different attitude and practices that Asian countries like China, Japan and Korea have towards the elderly. They’re respected and well treated in Asia, and partly because of that, seniors in countries like China and Japan don’t retire like in the West, they instead work into their 70’s and 80’s all the time, even if sometimes at reduced hours. We’re too often projecting our assumptions and structure in the US onto China when it’s totally different–they don’t put their elderly out to pasture like US companies do (where it’s hard to get hired after 40 in many professions), which eases dependency ratio pressures. Wolf is often correcting misinformation on financial management here, and we’ve found ourselves constantly correcting it on issues of Asia. It’s a bad thing for the US to be so misinformed about how things actually work there.
Chinese also like the North Korean action. Compliments their little “island building” program. All very inexpensive….for them.
It’s kinda like a perfect “Reverse Reagan”……letting the capitalist sell you the rope to hang him with, and all that.
But what do I know, I’m just trained in Biology and buy their world view.
It’s still bigger than most.
My bet is that Russia becomes dependent on China, and China turns them into a puppet state.
Good bet. Hydrocarbons the key. Russia needs customers to continue its former role in Europe. India & China are betting heavily on climate change not being significant for 20 years. US is betting on 10. Both bets very risky.
Thanks for the laugh!
Night,
“I told you so” will never be what it used to be, so just consider this a totally pointless comment.
Sounds like the right bet to me. China still needs their oil.
LoL, gear up. Did you see the numbers? The Chinese have those parts in twenty minutes, since they make millions for the rest of the world. Russian economy reverted to the level of 1988. Complete with the secret police openly imprisoned opposition protesters. Next thing will be tons of stolen European vehicles driving all over Russia. Oh to be a Polish Custom Official on the border with Byeloruss
Criminals are the kings of Russia, and the people, meh
Someday this war’s gonna end…but Why is oil seemingly predicting peace so soon?
Yeah I guess I’m thinking from an American perspective but for the Chinese I suppose creating wiring harnesses and random sub-components is a trivial matter given the manufacturing base they’ve developed.
AE: The Aurus Senat Officially Goes Into Production, so You Too Can Roll Like Vlad…
Three years after it was formally introduced to the public and eight years after it was announced, the Aurus Senat luxury sedan is becoming widely available. “Widely” is a relative term here since it will be a limited edition and a very expensive one at that, but at least civilians will be able to drive it.
The Aurus Senat is also known as Putin’s limousine. It’s actually an entire line of luxury sedans comprising various body styles (normal wheelbase, long wheelbase, and two-door drop-top cabriolet) in either full armor and no armor at all, used by the Russian President himself. He turned the long-wheelbase version into his own Beast, showing it off for the first time at the 2018 Inauguration.
That the Senat would become publicly available was the plan all along since Putin is hellbent on promoting local makers and showing the rest of the world that he and Russia can do very well (thank you very much) without capitalist brands. At one point in 2019, orders for the Senat were possible, though there was no word on when deliveries would be made.
A new Reuters report notes that, as of May 31, 2021, the Senat has officially started production at the Aurus manufacturing plant in the town of Yelabuga in the Republic of Tatarstan. Production for the first year will only yield 200 or 300 luxury sedans, but the report doesn’t mention whether all body styles will be made right off the bat. It does say this, though: the most basic version starts at around $245,000. Aurus is making sure to put the “luxury” in the “luxury sedan” description alright.
The Aurus Senat, which has often been described as the baby of a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Bentley Continental Flying Spur, is made by the Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute in Moscow (NAMI), with an engine supposedly developed with input from Bosch and Porsche.
This is a class business scoop – once again. You’re well ahead of the rest, keep giving it to ’em.
As is the case almost everywhere in the world, BMWs and Mercedes-Benz motor cars are the popular cars of choice for people of means in Moscow and elsewhere in the Russian Federation and they continue to flow into Russia in substantial quantities to meet demand from sources in the EU.
You have a source?
Because if they were, there would be videos everywhere of these “record” numbers.
There are plenty of videos of Ukrainians surrendering by the hundreds. Daily videos of dozens upon dozens.
Both sides have propaganda. But kinda hard to fake hundreds of surrendering soldiers. And, in this war, if there is no video, it didn’t happen.
“Russian soldiers defecting in record numbers,”
And even if there is video, there’s no guarantee.
To be honest…kinda of jealous we don’t have that choice in America.
“But this Granta would be a stripped-down version with fewer imported components. It is “the most affordable new car on the Russian market,” the company said, according to Tass. “The model was developed for the purpose of providing as much vehicle localization as possible, excluding the effect of imported components’ shortage.”
Russia doesn’t have a zillion product liability lawyers.
And Americans would refuse to buy it. Americans don’t like strippies. Remember the Ford Festiva, a tough little car, 50 mpg, that we used advertise for $4,999 and lose money on, and we still couldn’t sell them.
People came in to look at them and then they bought a used car for for $4,999 that had A/C, a 4-speed automatic, power windows and locks, a stereo with CD player, maybe even power seats, and all the other great luxuries Americans already took for granted at the time.
At one point while in college…my brother was driving a Festiva and I was driving a Subaru Justy around Seattle. Felt like we had the same car. Good times.
If people were rational, they would realize that cars are just a method to get your ass from point A to point B. They are a money loser. The more you spend, the more you lose.
They should be concerned with transporting their backside for the least amount of money per mile as they can so they can invest their money to actually make more money.
Instead, people allow their ego and emotions to over ride their logic and common sense, and feel they need to maintain some sort of status level. Supporting a lifestyle they cannot afford has become a religion for the masses, and it prevents most from ever achieving financial security.
I new a wealthy man, who had a really nice private plane, but he drove a very ratty looking 75 Camaro with faded paint and no hubcaps.
The guys at the airport used to ask him why he drove such a POS.
He would always say, that is my camouflage, since I started driving that not a single person has asked me to borrow money… Its great.
Well, I did notice that guys owning a suave Bimmer in college seemed to be a hot chick magnet. So there is that.
Two things that will separate you from your money in very little time, women, and car depreciation.
And insisting the government be shrunk to the size it was when the Constitution was written.
I knew a guy fresh out of law school and making 30K/yr in 1997 as a new assistant DA. Dating was hard for him because when women saw his Festiva they wouldn’t believe he was a lawyer. It was a gift from a family member. He couldn’t afford to upgrade as he was crushed under his law loan payments.
Interesting. Ugly numbers. But the situation in Russia is very insecure, so who would need a new car.
” But the situation in Russia is very insecure…”
I would argue the exact opposite. The car market will rebound sooner than later. They’ll be fine.
That robust Russian economy, 56th in the world in per capita GDP, ranking right up there with such industrial powerhouses as Panama and Equatorial Guinea but below Kazahkstan and Croatia.
And who could forget Russia’s rosy, did I say rosy? lol I meant Collapsing Demographics!
Da Future’s looking Bright Indeed, Comrade. A slogan that might look good on some Socialist Realist mural outside a bread shop somewhere, wouldn’t it?
“It’s not wise to do economic war on anybody who feeds you.”
Good call Anthony. And the Russian economy will rebound, probably robustly, and the car buying will resume. Probably start seeing more Chinese brands on the market, too, as a consequence.
Suddenly the whole world realizes:
Own your supply chain,
own it locally,
or be owned.
( comparative advantage, ha )
Sounds like you’ve been listening or reading Peter Zeihan.
Hi Harvey,
Never heard of him until I just googled him.
Thank you for the tip.
Jack
Paradigm Shift.
New/Reorganized Domestic RUS and CHN Makers will fill in the Gap and Prosper along with the SilkRoad.
KAMAZ trucks do well in the Dakar Rally.
49.9% owned by Rostec; 23.54% owned by Avtoinvest Limited & 15% by Daimler Truck. Made in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russia. It is the center of a lot of Russian industry, and on the Kama River.
Watching these beasts rip through the Saudi plains, where the Dakar Rally is now held, as they race is an amazing sight to watch.
Citroen 2CV!
“New Vehicle Sales in Russia Collapsed by 82% in June”
Maybe if they consolidated operations as a US corporation they could make the Imploded Stocks list.
I think I’ll find my old “55 Chevy 1/2 T, 2WD. Swapped out the 265? straight 6 and its 3 on the tree for a 285 V8 and a 4 Spd manual. Never had any trouble with it, didn’t need 4WD (did put chains on it occasionally, when the snow got too wet and/or deep), ran like a charm, got good mileage (for that era) of about 18 mpg
Not even 1 time in the article, is it mentioned that Russia is under economic sanctions (aka war by another mean).
Who in Russia would be stupid enough to buy let’s say a Renault, not knowing if servicing it will be possible in 6 months? nobody.
Hence the numbers.
And that’s with a strong and stronger Ruble (sanctions have failed obviously). Meaning cheaper and cheaper foreign cars.
If you did the graph on the number of Mc Donald burgers consumed in Russia you would see it going to zero.
But we can assume that nobody’s starving. And that would mean….nothing.
Da. Duh.
1. RTGDFA and find “sanctions” …OK, since your brain doesn’t function right now, I’ll help you out. This is what it says:
“Automakers in Russia are dependent on imported components, particularly those involving electronics, and the flow of those components, already stressed for the entire industry globally, was thrown into utter chaos due to the sanctions.”
2. RTGDFA to understand that this article is about vehicles that are/were being manufactured in Russia, not imports. So the rest of your comment about not being able to service your Renault and the ruble and yada-yada-yada is just garbage.
3. If you compare hamburgers and the production of motor vehicles, you have a verifiable short circuit in your thinking.
The West calls Russia a gas station masquerading as a country without realizing how diversified their economy actually is. The rouble is the best performing currency this year, at one point it got down into the 50s to the dollar, a huge problem for them. They have their own version of SWIFT called SPFS and forecasted to have 2300 tonnes of gold this year. They worked very hard over the last 8 years at insulating themselves from sanctions and succeeded.
Russia tried feudalism. Didn’t work. Russia tried communism. Didn’t work. Russia is trying state capitalism. It won’t work either.