According to the Association of European Businesses in the Russian Federation foreign car brands recorded a boost in sales of 54% in the 1st quarter. Nissan was on top with 102% year over year growth, while Hyundai sales grew by 97% in the quarter, GM by 78% and Renault sales increased by 36%. Rapid economic growth and better access to credit has supported the strong car market in Russia which is further assisted by the tax incentives provided to the assembly plants. For Nissan Russia has become their largest single market in Europe with 23% of their unit sales. It’s worth highlighting that their 18.8 thousand units’ growth in Russia in the first quarter is more than twice the 9.2thousand unit decline it saw in the US market over the same period.
Hector Fratty
Hector Fratty, DrivingVisionNews President and Founder has been for his entire career in automotive lighting. From 1995 to 2006, he was Valeo Lighting Systems’ chief of R&D, managing a staff of 650 engineers and technicians and a budget of over €70m. He holds 20 patents worldwide. In 2008, after 2 years’ consultancy, he initiated the launch of Driving Vision News, a news pipeline dedicated to keeping the lighting and driver assistance community informed of the latest progress and development in the industry. Hector Fratty presides over the highly‐regarded biennial VISION Congress international automotive lighting and driver assistance symposium. Hector Fratty is also a member of the ISAL steering committees.