AEB recorded a sharp decline in sales of road and special equipment in Russia

Sales of road construction (DST) and special equipment in January-March 2023 decreased in quantitative terms by 39% compared to the same period last year. This was announced on May 16 by the Association of European Businesses (AEB). In total, 2588 units of equipment were sold in the first quarter against 4124 for the same period in 2022.

AEB sales data includes vehicles from European importers and Russian manufacturers, which together account for approximately 80% of the Russian DST and special equipment market.

The drop in sales was observed in all segments, except for pipelayers and wheeled excavators, follows from the AEB data. Their sales increased by almost 4 times to 39 units and by 21% to 245 units respectively.

According to the AEB, sales of articulated dump trucks sank the most. If in the first quarter of 2022 78 such cars were sold, then in January-March 2023 – none. Sales of telehandlers also decreased – by 98% to 3 vehicles, rigid dump trucks – by 93% to 7 units, skid steer loaders and backhoe loaders – by 77% to 71 and 241 vehicles, respectively. Sales of self-propelled graders (-26%), wheel loaders (-25%), caterpillar tractors (-19%) and wheeled bulldozers (-8%) also sank.

Sales of DST, according to the association, began to decline in the second quarter of 2022. Then the fall was 37% in annual terms to 3294 units. In the third and fourth quarters of 2022, sales sank 43% and 52%, respectively. Last year, DST sales decreased by a third to 13,677 cars. The market showed negative dynamics for the first time since 2016 (Vedomosti wrote about this on February 14).

In turn, the Rosspetsmash Association (which unites companies that produce about 80% of DST in Russia) records an increase in sales and production of domestic equipment in value terms. According to the results of the first quarter, production increased by a third and amounted to 19.9 billion rubles, sales increased by 24% to 17.7 billion rubles. (Vedomosti wrote about this on April 25).

But the AEB and Rosspetsmash statistics do not include Chinese cars imported to Russia. According to “Gazprombank Auto Leasing, according to the results of January-March 2023, 14 Chinese brands entered the top of the top-selling brands of special equipment by the company. They also showed the maximum increase in sales compared to the first quarter of 2022. Thus, sales of the Lonking brand increased 11 times to 88 units, SANY – 9 times to 92 units, Shantui – 14 times to 58 cars. Russian manufacturers have repeatedly paid attention to dumping by manufacturers from China (Vedomosti wrote about this on January 24 and March 13).

According to SBS Consulting project manager Dmitry Babansky, sales of special equipment fell most of all in the first quarter in segments where companies from unfriendly countries were represented on a large scale (they limited sales in Russia after the start of CBO in Ukraine. – Vedomosti). The expert adds that the drop in sales is affected by the availability of alternative offers, including from manufacturers from China. “In addition, the devaluation of the ruble and the aggressive policy of Chinese companies have reduced the investment attractiveness of equipment from European countries,” he stressed. Babansky also noted the risks for the components for the further operation of the European DST. “In general, there is a demand for special equipment, and it is necessary to support Russian manufacturers,” Babansky summed up.

Denis Kudryavtsev, Director General of the Spetsavtoprom Association, confirms that now the equipment from the PRC is in the lead in the DST market. In the segment of dump trucks, the Chinese, according to him, “break records” in terms of deliveries. He added that the situation on the Russian market is unlikely to change in the near future. According to Kudryavtsev, Chinese equipment is still cheaper than Russian, and Chinese manufacturers are leading in terms of terms and volumes of delivery of special equipment. “Russian equipment was mainly sold under government orders, but now its volumes have decreased,” added the general director of the association.