16 February 2026 
- The Russian passenger car (PC) market contracted by 15.7% in 2025, to 1,306,299 units compared to 1,550,249 in 2024. This decline is likely a consequence of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which is prompting Russia (even though it is not yet operating under a full-blown war economy) to prioritize military needs over civilian requirements. The Russian light utility vehicle (LUV) market also contracted, declining by 23.8%, to 104,980 units compared to 137,734 in 2024, for the same reasons as the passenger car market.
- The best-selling passenger car brand in Russia in 2025 was Lada, part of the AvtoVAZ group (330,357 units; -24.8%), although its sales declined more sharply than the overall market, indicating that some of its customers switched to Chinese brands. Its market share fell from 28% in 2024 to 25% in 2025.
- The remaining 75% is largely monopolized by Chinese brands, which hold 60% of the Russian market in 2025 (786,737 units). European, Japanese, American, and Korean brands account for 15% of sales, but it is likely that a significant portion of these sales also originate from China, as these brands officially refused to sell their cars in Russia after the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. The hypothesis that many European, Japanese, American, and Korean models are imported through Chinese dealerships therefore remains highly probable (evidence of this is that Volkswagen Group's Jetta models are sold in Russia, even though this brand only produces its models in China).
Please sign-up/sign-in on the left to get access to the complete analysis. 10 February 2026 
- European car market (30 countries = EU + UK + Switzerland + Norway) Passenger cars + Light utility vehicles: Registration figures show 15.1 million vehicles sold in Europe in 2025, compared to 14.95 million in 2024, representing an increase of 0.8% (+2.3% for passenger cars and -8.9% for Light utility vehicles).
- For 2026, the European car market (passenger cars + Light utility vehicles) is expected to remain broadly stable, with slight growth driven almost exclusively by the rise of electric vehicles, while internal combustion engine and plug-in hybrid volumes stagnate or decline. Therefore, no real rebound is expected, but with a profound restructuring of powertrains (BEVs could represent 25% of the European market in 2026 compared to 20% in 2025), accompanied by a modest recovery in the light commercial vehicle market. Inovev forecasts a small increase in the European market for passenger cars and Light utility vehicles, to 15.37 million units, representing a modest increase of 2%.
- European automotive production (30 countries = EU + UK + Switzerland + Norway) Passenger cars + Light utility vehicles: Inovev estimates 13.5 million vehicles produced in Europe in 2025, compared to 14.12 million in 2024, representing a decline of 4.4%, while the European passenger car + light commercial vehicle market grew by 0.8%. This discrepancy is explained by the fact that imports increased, especially from China, while exports decreased, primarily to China and the United States.
- Inovev's forecast for 2026 remains at +2.8%, projecting 13.88 million units produced in 2026. This volume includes the start of production by Chinese brands in Europe.
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