According to JARN Magazine and APIC (Russian Association of Professionals in the Industry of Climate), the Russian AC market has been experiencing fast development in recent years. The Russian economy has shown strong growth from 2004 to 2006 and oil-powered economic growth is likely to continue for the next few years. Due to the positive economic situation and low saturation of the market (with the exception of Moscow and St. Petersburg that started developing earlier than regional markets), the Russian market will continue to grow, also due to recent hot summers (2002 set a temperature record, followed by 2006).

This is considered one of the most dynamic and promising markets in the world with an average annual growth rate of 20-35% depending on the segment. It is even more attractive for international players as it doesn’t have much local manufacturing and largely depends on imports. Russia’s total residential/light commercial market in 2006 was about 879,500 units. Most of the air conditioners sold were window type and mini-splits, in which the latter accounted for a market share of about 78%.

A growing demand for office space and new housing supports a booming construction industry and, therefore, the demand on portable ACs and commercial ACs has also increased. With prices continuing to decrease, air conditioners are no longer luxury goods. At an estimated 640 million euro in 2005, Russia is already the third largest European market for packaged AC equipment.