In the first quarter of 2023, Russians bought more Chinese cars than Lada cars, Russia’s most popular domestically produced car, in a sign of China’s growing presence in the Russian economy, Reuters reported.

The outflow of Western automakers is narrowing the options for Russian consumers, who have to get used to higher prices and Chinese brands such as Haval, Chery and Geely.

In January-March, sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia fell by 44.7% to 153,477 cars, according to data published on Thursday by the Association of European Enterprises (AEB).

Sales in March were 10.6% lower than a year earlier and totaled 48,414 vehicles.

According to Reuters estimates, 64,483 cars bought in the first quarter were Chinese, and 64,240 were Ladas made by Russia’s biggest carmaker, Avtovaz.

The market share of both Chinese brands and Lada brands exceeded 40%.

Russia’s auto industry has been heavily dependent on investment, equipment and spare parts from abroad and has been hit hard by the effects of Western sanctions and an exodus of automakers in response to Moscow’s deployment of troops to Ukraine in February 2022.

In 2022, sales of new cars fell by 59%. Since then, the Russian state has taken assets from Renault, Nissan and Toyota, often at a nominal price.

New car production in Russia has fallen to its lowest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and new car prices have risen sharply, dampening demand at a time when Russian consumers remain wary of big spending.

Russia is now seeking investment and partnerships with what it calls “friendly” countries, those that have not imposed sanctions, and is trying to restart production at factories formerly owned by Western automakers.

AEB previously forecast a 12 percent rise in sales in 2023 to about 770,000 vehicles, well below the more than 1.6 million new cars sold in 2021.

Photo source: Vitaly Sova, Dreamstime.com