OREANDA-NEWS. April 02, 2010. The 1Q 2010 operating report from AvtoVAZ shows a 19.3% y-o-y downturn in sales. At the same time, the auto maker managed to upsize sales in March.

On April 1, AvtoVAZ (RTS: AVAZ) released an operating report for 1Q2010. The car maker’s sales dropped 19.3% y-o-y in the reporting period, down to 71,630 cars. At the same time, March 2010 sales rose by 12.9% y-o-y to 34,180 vehicles, of which 8,440 cars were sold under the cash-for-clunkers program launched 8 March 2010. In accordance with plans, AvtoVAZ was to sell 38,200 cars in March 2010.

The 12.9% upturn in sales in March was due to the launch of a government-sponsored car-allowance rebate program: without this program, the 1Q2010 sales downturn could have been worse. Therefore, we note that market demand for AvtoVAZ goods still remains low. Moreover, we point to the fact that the company actually sold 10.5% less autos in March than it had initially planned.