The share of Chinese car sales in Russia is falling, prices are decreasing 0 98

Chinese cars on the secondary market in Russia have decreased in price by 200,000 rubles (2,000 euros) since January 2025. In November, a used car from China can be purchased on average for 1.89 million rubles (about 20,000 euros), analysts from "Auto.ru" calculated. At the same time, the average cost of other foreign cars with similar characteristics is one and a half times higher, at 3.3 million rubles. More than 80% of advertisements for the sale of Chinese cars are for crossovers, while the share of sedans is only 10%.

A quarter of used cars from China are sold with an active factory warranty, while among other foreign cars, only 6% have it, noted "Auto.ru" representative Georgy Golubev: "German, Japanese, and Korean brands maintain a dominant position. However, over the past five years, the share of Chinese manufacturers has more than doubled. These cars significantly outperform other foreign cars in several parameters. They are younger, cheaper, and often sold with an active factory warranty. The average cost of a used Chinese car no older than seven years has decreased to 1.9 million rubles over the year. In contrast, similar foreign cars from other countries remain much more expensive, around 3.3 million rubles.

The average age of cars from China is about four years, and the mileage is 69,000 km. More than 80% of the cars for sale are sold by the first owner."

According to "Autostat", in October, Russians purchased more than 650,000 used cars. There is not a single Chinese brand in the top 10. The first place goes to Lada, followed by Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, and Nissan. Russians also prefer Volkswagen, Chevrolet, Honda, Renault, and BMW. Cars from China still have not earned high trust, believes the vice president of the National Automobile Union, Yan Khaitser: "Russians make their choice; they are wary of used Chinese cars. It is clear that a seven-year term is not very relevant because until 2022, very few foreign cars from China were sold. After that, of course, there was a qualitative leap upward, as the only official importers that remained are, respectively, companies from the Celestial Empire.

Considering some problems that existed with Chinese cars (sometimes with painting, sometimes with some elements of electronics or suspension), there is no trust among Russians in them. If a person chooses a new car, it is clear that they expect some warranty period and are confident that their car will be repaired during this period, everything will generally be in order. They do not have much variability, and still, in the secondary market, the buyer chooses an old, proven, perhaps less sophisticated European model that they are used to. As is known, the more primitive the car, the cheaper it is to repair. People cannot see this repairability in Chinese cars, although trust is gradually increasing. However, this applies to models from 2023-2024, when there is already some habit, and the view has already chosen these cars in significant numbers on the roads."

In October, just over 82,000 new passenger cars of Chinese brands were sold in the Russian market. For the first time in more than two years, this figure is less than 50% of sales.