Chinese cars taking over Russian market

China was the biggest exporter of automobiles to Russia over the first eight months of the year, the news agency RIA Novosti reported on Tuesday, citing the acting head of the Federal Customs Service, Ruslan Davydov.   

Chinese brands accounted for 92% of all Russian car imports between January and August, following the exodus of European, American, South Korean, and Japanese carmakers, the figures showed.

Davydov highlighted China’s growing importance as a trade partner to Russia, adding that trade with the Asian country has “grown strongly.” Meanwhile, the EU’s share in economic cooperation with Russia continues to decline, he added.   

“This was predictable, because the European Union has closed the [Russian] market for itself, in particular, in terms of car sales,” Davydov said.  

As they fill the void left by Western carmakers, Chinese brands have become major players in the Russian market and are expected to reach 60% of all car sales in Russia by the end of this year, according to dealer chain Autodom.   

As part of their expansion into the Russian market, Chinese manufacturers have recently launched car production at the Avtotor plant in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which previously assembled German BMWs and South Korean Hyundai and Kia cars.

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