PARIS: Chinese carmakers are quickly capturing the Russian car market following the exodus of European, US, Japanese and South Korean manufacturers, news agency dpa reported, quoting French auto consultancy Inovev.
China stepped in to fill the void that opened after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Well-known brands pulled out as Western powers imposed economic sanctions on Russia in retaliation.
Inovev said in a market analysis released on Thursday that Chinese carmakers now have a 42 per cent share of new car sales in Russia.
According to industry experts, the Russian market slumped from an average of 140,000 vehicles sold per month to around 40,000 per month after the war in Ukraine began.
Russian carmakers have held up well despite the economic turbulence, Inovev said. But the sales volume of Chinese firms is now as high as that of Russia’s top carmaker, AvtoVAZ.
According to Inovev, Chinese brands sold 64,432 cars and light commercial vehicles in the first quarter of this year, after 24,734 in the first quarter of 2022 and 18,981 in the first quarter 2021. – Bernama-dpa
