Russia: Fast facts
- Russians bought 1.64 million new cars and trucks in 2005
- Foreign car sales increased 49% to 563,400 units in 2005 from 2004
- Foreign car sales are projected to reach 70% -- or 1.5 million vehicles -- by 2010
- Russia's real GDP -- a measure of the total market value of all the goods and services in a nation -- is estimated to rise 5.5% in 2006, following an increase of 6.4% in 2005. By comparison, Germany's GDP is estimated to rise 1.9% in 2006
When the heater quit in the dead of winter and the wipers stopped working in the spring, Yulia Kordyukova decided it was time to start saving for a foreign car.
