‘It’s true that the car prices have gone up since the beginning of this year. For one, a Chevrolet is now 9% to 10% more expensive, Opel makes have gone up by 9%, and Saab cars now cost 8% more. Hummer and Cadillac car prices have remained the same for the time being. I feel this price increase may have to do with the increased custom duties. Then, the price could have been affected by the growing foreign currency exchange rates,’ says Petr Lapin, Ok-Trans (Glazurit Car Center) Sales Manager.

According to the official data available, the number of cars sold in Russia in the last quarter of 2008 dropped dramatically, partially because a lot of banks stopped dealing in car loans.

‘Our sales plummeted in October through December 2008, but we managed to almost reach the previous year’s level in December 2008 due to our discount offers. We had to introduce discounts of 7% to 10% for Chevrolet, for instance, and we offered a 5% to 10% on Opel cars,’ Lapin explains.

‘The car loans became more available in December 2008 and January 2009, but they also became less affordable. The down payment, for example, now comes to 20% to 50%. We are cooperating with six banks at the moment, with four banks that used to be our partners quitting their automobile lending programs since the crisis broke out,’ he notes.