July 26 (Reuters) - Russia's car factories produced 42,000 passenger cars in June, around three times more than in the same month last year, when Western sanctions were pummelling Russia's auto industry, state statistics agency Rosstat said on Wednesday.
The volume of production in June was up 210% year on year, Rosstat said.
Car production in Russia fell 67% in annual terms last year as the conflict in Ukraine and ensuing Western sanctions led to an exodus of foreign auto makers, and many Russian car plants are still idle after their foreign owners left the market.
Chinese carmakers are seizing market share in Russia, capitalising on the departure of Western players that used to dominate the market, auto industry data shows.
Chinese firms are also increasing their sales in Russia with vehicle assembly at factories vacated by the likes of Renault and Nissan, Reuters found. (Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
