MOSCOW: Russian car sales recorded their first monthly rise in almost two years in November, the Association of European Businesses (AEB) lobby group said on Thursday, though it added it was too early to say the market had turned a corner.
After a decade of annual sales growth in excess of 10 percent, Russia's car industry has become one of the most high-profile victims of an economic crisis fuelled by lower oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.
New car sales in November rose 0.6 percent year on year - or by 727 sold units - to 132,346 vehicles, after a 2.6 percent drop in the previous month.
"It is far too early to read a trend turnaround into this," said Joerg Schreiber, Chairman of the AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee.
December is expected to prove whether the market "continues to move in the right direction", Schreiber added in a statement.
Car sales fell 12 percent year-on-year in January-November to 1.28 million units, the AEB said.
The AEB has said it expected Russian sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles to fall 10.3 percent to 1.44 million units in 2016.
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