Abstract. Banking and financial collapse of late 2008 extremely heavily hit the automotive industry in most countries. In 2009, the production of cars in the world dropped to 57 million units compared to 68 million in 2007. At the same time, recent statistics show that the industry is rapidly recovering from the worst crisis in its history. In the 1st quarter of 2010 car production in the world increased by 57% compared to the same period of 2009. In China, Canada, Mexico and Great Britain it increased by more than 70%. Volkswagen, Ford Motor Company and FIAT announced major investment plans, particularly in China and Latin America. Accordingly, it is expected that in 2010 the global car production will grow to 70 million units, and to 88 million by 2016, 40% of all sales will be in the Asia-Pacific region. Reduction of the automotive industry in Russia turned out to be deeper than anywhere else – 49% in 2009 against the previous year's level. For comparison: in the United States reduction amounted to 21%, in Spain – to18, in Japan – to10, in the UK – to 6.4, in Italy – to 0.2; while in China the production grew by 44%. Nevertheless, the Russian automotive industry is also showing signs of recovery, primarily because of the governmental program of recycling old cars.