20 July 2026
The Russian auto market has begun to decline amid the fuel crisis. From June 22 to 28, new passenger car sales totaled 25,900 units, down 16.2% from the previous week, according to Avtostat. This decline comes after several months of market recovery: sales had been steadily growing since March.
The decline also affected the commercial vehicle segment. Light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales fell 10% compared to the previous week, to 1,338 units. Truck sales declined 15.6%, to 1,010 vehicles. Year-on-year, LCV sales decreased 19.2%, while truck sales fell 6.6%.
Avtostat CEO Sergey Tselikov cited the fuel crisis as one of the reasons for the decline in sales, which could impact them in the second half of the year. Alexey Podshchekoldin, head of the Russian Dealer Association (ROAD), confirmed that the gasoline crisis is already being felt, and customers are taking a break until the end of summer to assess how the situation develops. An Avtostat survey showed that more than a third of drivers have reduced their driving habits, while some consumers have begun to consider electric and hybrid vehicles as alternatives to internal combustion engine vehicles.
The fuel crisis in Russia continues amid the aftermath of drone attacks on oil refineries. In early July, a Kommersant source in the oil industry said it was unlikely that the damaged Russian refineries would be able to increase capacity in the coming month. According to him, refining volumes in July would, at best, remain at June levels. According to EA Analytics, oil refining volumes at Russian refineries fell to their lowest levels since 2005 in July. According to Reuters, gasoline production fell by 35% in the second week of July, to 75,000-80,000 tons per day, compared to the typical summer domestic consumption of around 115,000-120,000 tons.
And sales for horses are skyrocketing.
Only until there is a meat shortage in the supermarkets.
You can consider them dual use products.