The effect of the sanctions is likely to promote Chinese cars within Russia, which have steadily gained ground from sales of around 25,000 in 2011 to more than 100,000 last year. In January, two Chinese brands – Chery and Great Wall Motors-owned Haval – made the top 10 for the first time ever.
"It's difficult to provide a reliable outlook, due to the highly dynamic situation, but one thing is clear: there will be further disruption of vehicle production in Germany," stated German car association the VDA on Wednesday. "The conflict in Ukraine is having a far-reaching impact on production in the supplier industry there,” a BMW spokesman told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper in Germany.
Other key supplies for car makers coming from Ukraine include neon gas, needed to make chips, as well as the precious metal palladium, used in catalytic convertors.