21 Sep 2010 19:44

Car sales in Russia in 2010 to total 1.7 mln units worth $60 bln

ST. PETERSBURG. Sept 21 (Interfax) - New car sales in Russia will total 1.7 million units worth $60 billion in 2010, Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Khristenko said.

"According to our estimates, over 1.7 million new cars will be sold in 2010. The market volume totals $60 billion," Khristenko said at a meeting on localizing automotive production on Tuesday.

The ministry estimates that sales will increase to 3.6 million units by 2020.

"The market will be augmented by Belarus and Kazakhstan as potential consumer countries for cars produced in Russia," he said.

The share of cars sold that are produced in Russia this year will be more than twice the number of imports sold, he said.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) forecasts car sales in Russia to total 1.6 million this year (excluding light commercial vehicles).

The consensus forecast from the Association of European Businesses is for car sales in Russia to total 1.67 million this year.