MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles (LCV) in Russia may exceed 1.6 mln units by the end of the year, Chairman of the Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the Association of European Businesses Alexey Kalitsev said.

"In October, the new car sales market did not defeat expectancies and continued to grow, especially in the first half of the month, moving on the momentum of high sales of September. It is obvious that the stock of cars formed by dealers, as well as the still deferred demand, will provide their support for some time longer. The results of ten months of the year are close to the industry forecast y announced by the AEB earlier, so there is no doubt that it will be exceeded and the market may overcome the 1.6 mln sold cars. However, the trend towards a decrease in consumer activity and a possible transition to a market decline will intensify soon due to the rise in the cost of loans for businesses and consumers. In this case a significant state support will be required to maintain volumes and further market growth," he said in a statement.

According to AEB, sales of new cars and LCVs in Russia in October 2024 amounted to 177,500 units, taking into account parallel imports. According to sales data from Passport Industrial Consulting - 181,100 units. Thus, sales in October this year exceeded last year by 51%, and sales results for 10 months of the current year increased by 57% compared to the same period in 2023.