General Motors concern suspends the car deliveries to Russia

The American auto concern General Motors, as of March 1st, 2022, decided to suspend the export of cars to Russia and new wholesale sales to dealers until further notice. This was reported to the agency "AUTOSTAT" in the press service of GM Russia, by adding that this decision was influenced by a number of external factors, including problems with the supply chain and others beyond the control of the company. “We continue to evaluate the impact of the sanctions announced by the US government, as well as broader economic factors, including security factors. We are monitoring events in real time and are developing various strategies to mitigate the consequences of the situation for our customers and business,” the press service of GM Russia said.

Recall that in March 2015, General Motors announced its plans to change the business model in Russia, within which the concern focused on the premium segment of the Russian market with the Cadillac brand and American Chevrolet models. As AUTOSTAT previously reported, in 2021, Russian Cadillac dealers sold 2,377 cars, which is 67% higher than a year before. This is an absolute sales record for the whole time the Cadillac brand has been presented in Russia since 2004. As noted, record results were shown in almost all models in the market: XT5, XT6 (grew by 106% in compare with 2020) and, of course, Escalade (which broke records at the pre-order stage and showed the best result in the previous 5 years).

Recall that the flagship SUV Cadillac Escalade of the fifth generation went on sale in the Russian market in July of the previous year. As for American Chevrolet models, sales of 2021 grew by 87% and reached 1,046 cars - this is the second record for GM Russia since 2016. Recall that in June of the previous year, the flagship SUV Chevrolet Tahoe of the new generation became available in the Russian market, and in September the compact crossover Trailblazer of the new generation went on sale, which became the "entry ticket" to the line of premium SUVs of the American brand. As noted, the new models influenced dynamically the sales growth: an expanded portfolio made it possible to cover both new audience segments and update the offer for brand fans.