In March, the fall of the ruble provoked an excessive demand for cars, and in April and May, most Russian dealers could not trade because of quarantine. Interviewed by Gazeta.Ru representatives of the auto business say that cars purchased in winter and spring are still being sold at old prices. But already at the end of June and July, companies will begin to rewrite price tags, because old cars will run out.
“A certain number of cars that were contracted in March and early April were left in the warehouses, but we cannot say that they are very many. The cars that remained will be sold according to the old price lists, ”said the director of the Avilon. Hyundai »Dmitry Makarychev.
The average turnover period of the car is 40-65 days, but the most popular models were sold back in March during the sales boom,
notes the vice-president of the Association of Russian Automobile Dealers, Serey Kiselev. According to him, there are still stocks at old prices, but less than the average level due to a surge in sales in March.
“And there is such a nuance that in ordinary years, automakers always raise prices to compensate for inflation. This year, devaluation is increasing, ”Kiselev told Gazeta.ru. – The first reaction of distributors to this fluctuation has already passed in April – by about 2-3% to prices. According to my expectations, and many importers are already talking about this, the second wave will be at the end of June and in July – about the same percentage. “
According to the interlocutor, the third stage of price increases with a high degree of probability will occur in the fall, when consumption comes to life. The decline in demand may adversely affect the value of automobiles – the smaller the local foreign plants that produce automobiles, the higher the cost of a unit of goods. Accordingly, car companies will have to compensate for lost revenue by rising prices.
A similar opinion is shared by Denis Petrunin, General Director of AvtoSpetsTsentr Group of Companies.
“This year, car prices will rise more. 3-4% for the summer and a total of 7-8% – until the end of the year.
This is due to the fact that both car manufacturers and dealers actually did not work for two months and incurred losses that will be very slowly compensated, ”Petrunin explained.
Automakers themselves are in no hurry to announce their pricing policy. Hyundai and Genesis say they “try to keep prices down for their customers so they can meet demand.” Volvo explained to Gazeta.Ru that they are not going to change anything until the third quarter.
Suzuki and Chery also do not discuss prices, but reported that due to the difficult economic situation in the country they went for additional marketing campaigns for customers. The representative of the Japanese Subaru notes that since the brand’s cars are fully imported, the company “is highly dependent on the dynamicscoursedollar soon. ”
In an informal conversation with “Gazeta.Ru” representatives of car companies say that prices will begin to rise in early July. They will not be in June, since many want to support dealers who have stood idle for two months without working capital due to quarantine.
Some manufacturers have already announced a slight increase in prices for new supplies, Denis Petrunin from AvtoSpetsTsentra knows. This rise in price is connected both with the release of new models and with the growth of the dollar exchange rate (mainly concerns non-producing companies in Russia, which are growing more strongly in price). In general, the price of most localized brands is really being restrained so far, says Petrunin.
Prices for foreign brands localized in Russia will grow more slowly, while for import brands – faster, the source said.
The most tangible growth will be in niche models that have small sales in Russia — Cadillac, Jeep and Honda, he said. A price adjustment will occur as soon as new lots of cars go on sale, but it is unlikely to be strong, says Makarychev from Avilon.
“Probably, in the first months after the opening, dealers will offer their customers various discounts, but even so, we forecast this summer sales at 50% compared to the same period last year,” he said.
Despite the obvious trend of a rise in price, Russians will no longer run to car dealerships, as in March, now there is no need to wait for a massive return of buyers for at least a year, automotive expert Sergey Ifanov agrees.
– .
