In recent years, Chinese cars have gained brand awareness in Russia with high quality, economy and reliability, and won many fans. Nowadays, in the traffic flow on Russian roads, apart from the local Lada brand cars, there are many Chinese brands of cars.

Open hundreds of sales stores a year

  According to a recent survey jointly conducted by the Russian "Auto Business Review" magazine and a local commercial bank, by the end of 2022, the number of Chinese brand car dealers in Russia will reach 1,041, accounting for almost one-third of the total number of Russian car dealers.

  Last year, Russia opened 487 Chinese auto sales stores. The rapid expansion of stores is due to the strong demand for Chinese cars in the Russian market.

  In 2022, Russia will import a total of about 117,000 passenger cars from China, an increase of 40% over the previous year. China has become Russia's main source of imported passenger cars.

  In addition to ordinary consumers, Russian car rental companies and taxi companies are also actively purchasing Chinese cars. Since July last year, the Russian Yandex car-sharing company has begun to update its fleets in cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sochi in phases, and has purchased hundreds of Geely’s Chinese brands such as Curry, Haval, and Chery Tiggo. ,will continue to update the fleet this year.

  In view of the good market prospect, Avitator, a large Russian automobile manufacturer mainly engaged in assembly, has begun to assemble Chinese Cowing brand vehicles, and is actively discussing cooperation with other Chinese automobile brands.

"Made in China" was affirmed by Russian counterparts

  Chinese cars entered the Russian market in the early 21st century. Russian consumers have always been cautious about foreign things, but as Chinese auto companies absorb senior experts in the world's automotive field and continuously improve technology and services, they have established a firm foothold in the Russian market and are increasingly consolidating their positions.

  At present, most of the Chinese cars sold in Russia are in the middle price range, ranging from 1.8 million rubles to 3.5 million rubles.

  Analysts in the Russian industry pointed out that compared with other foreign cars of the same price, Chinese cars can often provide more fashionable exterior designs and richer and more interesting configurations, achieving a perfect balance in terms of trim level, price and technology. Moreover, the warranty time or mileage of Chinese brand cars is also longer, even reaching 7 years or 200,000 kilometers, providing consumers with practical protection. Among many foreign car brands, Chinese cars stand out.

Inject vitality into the Russian auto market

  In February last year, after Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine, Western car companies withdrew from Russia one after another, resulting in a large gap in the Russian auto market. Russia's local car brands are very single, and the Lada brand is the absolute leader in the Russian car market.

  Affected by Western sanctions, sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia plummeted by about 59% year-on-year last year, and the auto market fell into a downturn. Experts in the Russian auto industry and the media are paying close attention to the movements of Chinese auto companies, tracking the progress of new launches and delivery of various brands, analyzing the performance of new models and predicting market prospects. News about Chinese autos often appears in the newspapers.

  Although Western sanctions against Russia have raised costs, including tariffs and freight, resulting in a sharp increase in the price of Chinese cars sold in Russia, Russian consumers still favor Chinese cars. According to the sales data in January this year, Chinese cars became the champion of foreign car sales in Russia. Among them, among the top 10 best-selling sports utility vehicles in Russia, 8 are Chinese cars.

  At present, the Volga Automobile Factory has listed Chery and other Chinese automakers as competitors. Russian experts believe that the diversification of market participants is conducive to healthy competition.

  In the future, under the eager expectation of Russian consumers and auto assemblers, it is foreseeable that more and more Chinese brands will come to fruition in Russia, injecting fresh vitality into the development of the Russian auto market.