Kommersant – According to the sources of Kommersant newspaper, AVTOVAZ has almost doubled its supply to non-CIS countries, to 7700 vehicles.
On the other hand, exports to CIS countries have fallen in 2015: AVTOVAZ – 19,500 (-58%), GM-AVTOVAZ – 2400 (-40%), UAZ – 4800 (-24%).
While the supply of KAMAZ to CIS countries declined by 20% to 4200 vehicles, the exports to non-CIS countries doubled, to 1600. As a result, the total sales of the plant in overseas markets went down by 4%, to 5800 trucks. Ural, on the other hand, has increased its exports by 15%, to 2300 trucks. GAZ Group has not disclosed its export figures for 2015.
GM-AVTOVAZ has related the shrinkage in exports to the decline in consumer spending in the main foreign markets, such as: Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, due to the depreciation in the national currencies. Sollers also agrees that the drop in UAZ exports is caused by the unstable economic situation in the main markets: the CIS and the neighbouring countries. According to the Association of Kazakhstan Car Business data, automobile sales fell by 40% in the country in 2015, to 97,500 vehicles. Another factor, reducing the automobile exports to Kazakhstan, as well as Belarus is that a large number of private dealers have purchased vehicles from dealers in Russia, due to the depreciation of the ruble last year and transported to their countries. In addition, the car exports to Ukraine have almost stopped.
According to the Federal Customs Service (FTS) data, the exports of passenger cars have fallen by 23% in total in 2015, to 97,400 vehicles. The supply to non-CIS countries has increased by 2.5 times, to 11,300 vehicles, in contrast with the 30% decline in sales to CIS countries, to 86,000 automobiles. Truck exports fell by 9% to 20,000.
However, the government continues to place its stake on exports, in the expection that the increasing sales abroad will compensate for the falling domestic trade. The government plans to spend only 3.3 billion rubles on the transport of the vehicles to the borders and bringing the automobiles up to the standards of other countries this year, out of the total approximate figure of 56 billion rubles allocated for the support of car industry. The sources state that the effect of export subsidies on the budget, apart from the other measures taken by the government, tends to zero. There are other factors, hindering the development of exports, such as the introduction of a utilisation fee with relatively high rates in Kazakhstan, at the end of January.
