Dealers predict a rise in prices for Chinese cars in Russia

Russian dealers expect a slight rise in prices for new Chinese cars in the next three months due to the weakening of the ruble and the constant rise in the cost of logistics services, informed industry representatives interviewed by RIA Novosti. In particular, Maxim Zlatokrylets, sales director for new cars at Rolf, noted that the peak of price growth for Chinese cars occurred in the spring of 2022. At the same time, while the increase in prices of Korean and Japanese brands was caused by limited availability, then the increase in prices of Chinese brands was due to the general trend in the market and the opportunity for them to increase rapidly profitability. In turn, Russian Automobile Dealers Association states that a significant increase in prices of Chinese manufacturers last year slowed down in 2023 due to low buying activity, therefore, in the near future, if there is an increase in prices, it will be insignificant under current economic conditions. Sergey Klimov, a member of the board of directors of DOLAVTO Group of Companies, believes that Chinese automakers, which in recent years have focused on the segment of more expensive crossovers and SUVs, will return eventually to the cheaper segment of the Russian car market.

According to the results of January of this year, 45.2 thousand new cars were purchased in Russia, experts of AUTOSTAT agency reported with reference to the data of JSC "PPK"*. And this figure is 47% lower than in January 2022. About 80% of the purchased cars were Russian and Chinese brands (18.4 thousand and 17.2 thousand units, respectively). And if the market volume of domestic brands grew only 5%, then the "Chinese" market grew 2.1 times.

* JSC "PPK" ("Passport Industrial Consulting") is a joint venture of JSC "Electronic Passport" and LLC "AUTOSTAT".