"Gray" deliveries of Chinese cars are gaining momentum in Russia

Intermediaries have become more active in Russia, offering to import cars from China on a turnkey basis. According to market participants, mainstream gasoline vehicles such as Changan Uni-K and premium electric vehicles such as BYD Tang are the most in demand through this channel. In such transactions, there is a high risk of losing money, experts warn. According to the data of the agency "AUTOSTAT" and JSC "Electronic Passport", there were imported 25 thousand cars to Russia in July, while the share of new cars was only 32%, the rest – cars with mileage.

Both legal entities and ordinary citizens bring cars from foreign countries, but the share of individuals is constantly growing. So, if in February individuals imported only 2% of the total volume of imported new cars, then in July this figure grew 10 times - up to 20%. In the segment of used cars, the situation is different: legal entities practically do not import used cars into the country - this is done by ordinary citizens. Since January, the share of individuals exceeds 90%, and already in July this share reached 99%. Among the countries from which cars are most often imported, China remains the leader with a share of 80.6% in the second quarter of 2022.