Russia's new-car sales fall 2% in December

New-car sales in Russia fell by 2.1 percent in December to 166,666 vehicles, according to data from the Association of European Businesses.

Despite the drop, Russia performed better than many other markets hit by government lockdowns to suppress the spread of COVID-19.

Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, Russia was "one of the best performers among the biggest automotive markets worldwide, and No. 4 in Europe," Thomas Staertzel, chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee, said in a statement.

Russia's top-three-selling brands reported gains in November, with Lada maker and market leader AvtoVAZ up 14 percent. The No. 2-ranked brand, Kia, rose 11 percent, while third-place Hyundai also jumped 11 percent.

Click here for Russia sales in December, 12-months.

Renault fell 24 percent at No. 4, while fifth-place Skoda rose 6 percent ahead of Volkswagen brand, which decreased 5 percent to finish the month No. 6.

Peugeot brand was another notable winner, rising 35 percent.

Brand's that lost ground in December included Nissan (-40 percent), Toyota (-27 percent), Mitsubishi (-22 percent) and Mazda (-14 percent).

Full-year sales in Russia dropped 9.1 percent to 1.59 million.

The AEB said in the statement that it did not expect "significant changes" in demand for the coming year and forecast market growth of 2.1 percent to 1.63 million.