By Park Jin-hai
Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors were the two best-selling cars in Russia in July.
Hyundai's Accent subcompact, known as the Solaris in Russia, sold 10,251 units in July, up 4.8 percent year-on-year, claiming the top-selling spot, according to the Association of European Business.
Kia's Pride subcompact, called the Rio in Russia, came in second with 9,151 cars sold last month, up 33.5 percent from a year earlier, the association said.
It is the first time the two were ranked in the top two spots in the world’s largest country.
With the collapse of the Russian ruble last year, car manufacturers have been struggling with plunging consumer demand.
Global car makers including General Motors have discontinued sales of certain models and have cut investment in the Russian market.
In the first seven months of this year, total car sales in Russia were down 35.3 percent from the previous year, at 913,181 cars.
However, Hyundai and Kia have maintained their marketing and dealerships, focusing on the strategic models the Solaris and the Rio, in the belief that when the Russian auto industry recovers, it will take the lead based on strong market share.
Since the 2011 launch, the local carmaker’s Lada Granta subcompact car has dominated the market. The car became the best-selling car in 2014, selling 152,810 cars.
This year, Hyundai’s Solaris surpassed the Lada Granta in monthly sales in January and May, as well as July, while Kia’s Rio maintained third place in the first six months of the year.
In July, Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 25,597 vehicles in Russia, down 14 percent from a year earlier, but their market share rose 3 percentage points to 19.5 percent.
In the first seven months of this year, their cumulative sales in Russia fell 15 percent year-on-year to 181,256 vehicles, but their market share jumped 4.7 percent, to 19.8 percent.
Meanwhile, its rival Lada’s July sales slipped 25 percent, while Renault’s dropped 35 percent and Toyota was down 28 percent, compared with a year earlier.