Sales of new passenger cars in Russia plummeted by 24.9 per cent year-on-year in February, marking the first decline in monthly sales since April 2023, Russian analytical agency Autostat said on Thursday. Before February, sales had been growing in year-on-year terms for 22 consecutive months, recovering after a market collapse in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine and the exit of Western carmakers such as Renault and Volkswagen. Growth started stalling towards the end of last year and Autostat