Due to the difficulty of buying familiar brands, many Russians are switching to premium Chinese models.
Parallel import of foreign cars in Russia is disappearing. Even connoisseurs of premium brands are forced to switch to Chinese cars. The Moscow Times writes about this on December 5, citing data from an analytical company. Autostat.
More and more Chinese are in the top 10 best-selling car brands – in November, the premium Tank, which sold 1,858 cars, was included, as well Moskvich (1900 cars), which, although considered Russian, produces analogues of models from the Chinese automaker JAC.
Korean Hyundai fell out of the top ten – so, only one brand from the pre-war past remained here (except Lada, 32,651 cars). This is the Korean Kia (2208 cars), supported even by small parallel imports from Korea.
In November, the share of premium brands in sales decreased for the first time – to 2%. This does not mean that Russians have stopped buying expensive cars – just because of difficulties in buying familiar brands, many are switching to Chinese models, the publication writes.
In the spring of 2022, after the introduction of sanctions on the supply of luxury cars to Russia, all global premium brands froze Russian business, stopped supplying cars and spare parts, and disconnected dealers and Russian customers from their warranty programs, customer and service systems.
So, in order to service and repair BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and other brands, dealers have to use different tricks – for example, accessing diagnostic services and downloading updates of software via VPN.
It can take up to six months to replace a lost car key. Alternative imports not only increase the price of a car due to a complex supply chain, but also create other problems – for example, in cars intended for the UAE, it is necessary to install a system of heating and perform other manipulations so that it can be operated in Russian conditions.
Customers unaccustomed to such hardships are ready to see what the Chinese auto industry has to offer. Their premium models are half the price of European ones – prices for Chinese premium ones start from 5 million rubles (about 55,500 US dollars), while for European ones – from 10 million rubles.
It was previously reported that in the five months from the beginning of 2023, Chinese automakers exported more cars to Russia than to any other country, filling the niche that appeared after many global manufacturers left the Russian market .
Sales of Chinese cars in Russia have reached a peak. The Russian Federation has become China’s largest export market for cars.
Source: korrespondent
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.