Russia puts the brake on global car giants

The Russian car market could take up to five years to recover from the country's economic and political volatility, leaders in the global auto industry told CNBC at the Geneva Motor Show.

Ralph Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover told CNBC that sales in Russia were going "slowly, slowly, slowly downwards" and that its conflict with Ukraine and currency volatility was a cause for concern.

"Overall I see…concern and disruptive elements in Russia but it's a short-term element," he told CNBC at the Geneva Motor Show Tuesday. "I am absolutely sure that we will see a recovery in Russia and Ukraine but I am more concerned about the people in these regions than ourselves."

He believed the U.K. market was "very strong and Europe consolidated but on a low level."

Paul Willcox chairman of Nissan Europe, told CNBC he also expected a decline in sales in Russia, falling from a forecast of 2.3 million to around 1.8 or 1.9 million in 2015 and would take four to five years to recover.

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"We are seeing a contraction in the marketplace and obviously everyone is impacted by the exchange rate but we are playing a long game in Russia, we see the potential in Russia is huge," he said.

Car sales in Europe might be robust -- rising 6.7 percent in January, the 17th straight month of gains, reaching almost 1 million units, according to data from the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) last month, but in Russia it's a different story.