Russia: from tsars to cars - Soaring personal wealth is fuelling the Russian new car market, despite masses of red tape

摘要

Russia will overtake the UK this year as the second largest car market in Europe to Germany. Some analysts predict 2.8 million cars will be sold there in 2008, but in terms of the amount of money to be made by the car business, Russia is already number one by some distance. Figures released recently by the Rolf Group, Russia's biggest and fastest-growing dealer group, shows that it is relieving the Russians of a 7.5 per cent profit margin. In the UK it would be doing extremely well to make two per cent - and the way British consumers are talking, a bigfat zero is likely for some this year.