Russia on Pace to become Europe's Largest Auto Market

According to experts at the Sochi Investment Forum, the Russian auto market is set to become No.1 in Europe over the next two years. “The growth figures in 2011 and the first 8 months of 2012 make a target of becoming No.1 market in Europe possible,” Evgeniy Kudryashov, the head of the auto industry department at the Russian Ministry of Trade and Industry, told RT. He added that the Russian car market is expected to grow 12.4% this year; currently it is in second place in Europe after Germany. Meanwhile, Russia's ascension to the WTO might create a challenge for domestic car production. “Customs tariffs are going to be lowered year after year now, so the incentive for suppliers to localize is going lower every year, because they can just import the parts,” Marcus Osegowitsh, general director of Volkswagen Russia told RT. “We need another push from government to make it attractive for suppliers to localize, which helps us fulfill requirements we signed with the government,” he added. VW expects to reach 60% localization by 2016. The company already reached the figure for a number of models.
http://rt.com/business/news/russia-car-market-europe-827/