Plunging automotive sales have brought domestic auto giants to their knees, and even foreign majors are feeling the pinch.

New car sales in Russia declined 40 percent overall in the first quarter, but a few luxury brands are bucking the trend thanks to competitive prices and new models.

Four brands posted year-on-year sales increases in the first quarter, and three of them rank high in the premium car segment: Hummer, Infiniti and Cadillac.

General Motors is continuing its desperate search for a buyer for Hummer after the brand's worldwide sales dropped 76 percent year on year in March. In Russia, however, sales couldn't be better, growing 89 percent in the same month.

While Cadillac and Infiniti boasted first-quarter sales growth of more than 50 percent year on year, other luxury brands felt the pinch throughout the broader market.

Overall new car sales in Russia plummeted 47 percent in March and 40 percent first quarter, and sales for other high-end cars tumbled in turn.

Lexus sales plummeted 74 percent first quarter; Mercedes-Benz sales fell 57 percent; and Porsche saw a 45 percent drop.

Neither the ruble devaluation nor the tax increase on imported cars has been kind to the foreign auto market. By offering prices that beat predevaluation 2008 ones, however, the brand has been able to successfully market its new H2 and H3 models with competitive deals, said Roman Skolsky, a spokesman for Hummer and Cadillac Russia.

Ivan Bonchev, an auto analyst at Ernst & Young, said it was hard to determine whether the premium segment's relative success was a short-term trend or a strong indicator of continued success.

While the premium market upswing here could just be the "delayed responsiveness of the Russian market," it could also mean that the more affluent customers remain less affected by the crisis, he said.

Then again, despite poor March figures, demand on the overall market may also be showing signs of recovery with an increasing number of customers taking out car loans, Bonchev added.

"With the oil price and national currency being strengthened recently, to a certain extent confidence is already coming back as well, and we see that by the increase in the number of cars sold on credit in March," he said.

While most banks offer auto credit at rates as high as 20 percent, the number of cars bought on credit rose to above 15 percent in March from just over 10 percent in January, perhaps indicating a return of consumer confidence.

In turn, automakers' confidence appears to be growing as well.

BMW, which bested most by retaining flat sales' growth first quarter, announced last month that it planned to begin production of its high-end X5 and X6 sport utility vehicles in Russia this summer. And they might just see results.

Most high-end brands have begun to mark down prices significantly, and the SUV market is faring well, with many customers choosing to splurge on four-wheel drive vehicles whose prices have been marked down to levels not much higher than those for a lower-end sedan, Bonchev said.

SOURCE: The Moscow Times -- 20 April 2009
By Courtney Weaver