Russia’s truck market braces for another torrid period

Russia’s passenger car market remains volatile, but the truck sector has shown signs of resilience. Order backlogs are in part due to rising demand, but also a sign of supply chain constraints. The hope is that things will get back on track mid-way through 2022, but nothing is certain at this stage. For now, recovery appears to be ongoing.

One of the country’s leading domestic brands, Kamaz, reported in October that revenue had surged to more than Roubles 169.09bn (US$2.37bn) over the first nine months of 2021, up from around Roubles 128.37bn the year prior. There are positive signs also for brands such as Scania, Mercedes-Benz and MAN, with output from foreign brands rising 88.9% in the first four months of 2021. Figures for the second half of 2021 are yet to be released, but the production pipeline appears strong; so strong in fact that Kamaz has amended its normal vacation schedule to handle increased order volumes in January 2022.

But as if a global pandemic were not challenging enough, manufacturers have