Sales of Rolls-Royce automobiles in Russia jumped by 39% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year, industry news outlet Auto Mail reported on Tuesday.
The spike in sales of the British luxury car brand comes despite the West’s attempts to block import routes of high-end goods to Russia.
Russians bought a total of 99 Rolls-Royce cars between January and September, with the Cullinan SUV becoming the most popular model. Sales of the luxury vehicle worth over $1 million soared by 27% after 59 Cullinan SUVs were bought by Russia’s rich, the outlet said, citing automobile registration statistics.
Second on the list of most popular vehicles among wealthy Russians was the luxury coupe Rolls-Royce Specter – the first all-electric model from the bespoke carmaker. A total of 22 such cars with an average price of about $900,000 were sold in Russia this year shortly after the model emerged on the market.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost sedan, priced at about $600,000, was ranked as the company’s third most popular model in Russia with 12 cars sold in the first nine months of 2024, according to the report.
The Phantom limousine took fourth place on the list with a total of six cars sold in Russia since January. The starting cost of the exclusive limo in Russia is about $1 million.
Western cars are still being supplied to the sanctions-hit country through a parallel imports scheme, in particular via Belarus to be then re-exported to Russia.
According to statistics collected by Trade Data Monitor and shared by the Financial Times earlier this year, EU car exports to Belarus spiked after the West ramped up sanctions on Russia in 2022, reaching $268 million in early 2024.