ST. PETERSBURG, June 18. /TASS/. Sales of new cars in Russia may drop by a quarter to 1.1 mln units this year, chief executive of Avtovaz Maxim Sokolov said in an interview with Rossiya-24 television at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"The situation will be challenging. The market will dip, it has already been absolutely clear, and the volume of such drop will total approximately a quarter against the last year," Sokolov said.

"In other words, we forecast that the cars selling market will be within 1.1 million; together with light commercial vehicles - probably 1.2 mln," he added.