(ANSA-AFP) - MOSCOW, JUN 6 - New car sales in Russia sank by 83.5 percent year-on-year in May, industry data showed on Monday, as the effects of unprecedented Western sanctions hit the country's economy and consumers. Only 24,268 cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in Russia in May, said the Association of European Businesses in Moscow. The collapse is sales in May came after a 78.5 percent drop in April. Sales of the country's most popular and affordable brand, Lada, whose AvtoVAZ manufacturer was majority-owned by the Nissan-Renault group, fell 84 percent to 6,000 units year-on-year. The West slapped Russia with debilitating sanctions after the start of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine in February. In May, Renault handed over its local assets to the Russian government, marking the first major nationalisation since the onset of sanctions. Renault controlled 68 percent of AvtoVAZ but was under pressure to pull out of the country. (ANSA-AFP).