Russia August auto sales up 32%

Reuters (Moscow) - Russian car sales rose 32 percent year-on-year in August after increasing by 27 percent in July, the Association of European Businesses said on Thursday.

The group also said it expects annual sales growth of about 30 percent.

"With improving consumer confidence and availability of credit we forecast that the full year growth will be around 30 percent, which will be a similar growth level to 2010," the AEB's Automobile Manufacturers Committee chairman David Thomas said.

"This more stable growth pattern is encouraging and shows signs that the Russian automotive market is following a more stable progression back to pre-crisis levels."

In the period from January to August the Russian car market expanded by 48 percent in year-on-year terms, with 544,850 units sold.