The Russians Are Coming! To Car Dealers
The BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India, and China were long seen as the saviors of the world, especially when it comes to cars: large population, very few cars per head, a strong growth. Then 2008 came around, the oil prices dropped, and Russia nearly imploded. Russia was taken off the BRIC list, leaving a BIC behind. If you take a hard look at it, it’s a C, with a BI as future growth market. Now suddenly, the BRIC is back.
The Russian new car market, for long a basket case, is growing by leaps and bounds. In July, Russians bought 48 percent more cars than in June, report Automobilwoche [sub].
And they are not buying econoboxes: “We are undersupplied in Russia,” says Audi’s sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer. Ric h Russians suddenly are back buying big bore cars with all the options. In the first seven months, Audi sold 27 percent more cars in Russia than in the same period of 2009. Automobilwoche expects that the Russian car market will be more than 3 million units in 2015, about the size of Germany. Last year, it was half of that.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Can you censor that picture, or label it as potentially disturbing, or something? I think I might be sick.
Please delete that photo and replace it with a Russian Sebring/Siber! By the way, can I buy a Russian Sebring/Siber?