TASS reports referring to the sources in the company that one of the largest dealer holdings Major Auto has stopped to sell new cars today. Representatives of the holding haven’t made any official comments yet. The reason for interruption of car sales that can last for 1-3 days is the sharp fall in the ruble that has caused uncertainty with prices for the imported vehicles.
Major Auto is the second automotive holdings in Russia after Rolf. The company is the dealer of 35 various brands. It has 50 showrooms in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
According to Forbes magazine, the holding net income in 2013 was 88 billion rubles (7 percent less that in 2012). This year’s financial results are not known yet, but according to the results of the first six months, car sales in the showrooms of the company have reduced by 30 percent.
The sharp fall in the ruble that began in autumn 2014 has significantly affected the Russian car market. On the one hand, customers being afraid of the marked price increase hurried to the dealers to buy vehicles at the previous prices. On the other hand, cars of most of the brands became more expensive in November and December. And the prices will only rise in 2015 that will inevitably lead to decreasing sales.
Several brands have removed the official price lists from the official websites because of the current situation. The others began to indicate the prices in dollars and some of them have withdrawn from the Russian market.
