With many Western car manufacturers halting the production and deliveries of vehicles in and to Russia, it is key Chinese automakers that could benefit.
China has yet to place any sanctions on Russia regarding its ongoing invasion of Ukraine and those Chinese carmakers operating in the country have made no indication of whether they will continue with business as usual.
A total of 122,800 Chinese-made vehicles were exported to Russia last year, roughly three times the amount that were exported in the year prior. Chery is the best-selling Chinese brand in Russia having sold 40,874 vehicles there in 2021, a 250 per cent increase over 2020. Following Chery is Haval with 39,126 sales, placing it ahead of Geely with 24,587 sales, Changan with 5,705 sales, and FAW with 3,137 sales. These figures place some Chinese carmakers just outside the top 10 of best-selling auto brands in Russia.
Read Also: Russia Threatens To Nationalize The Factories Of Foreign-Owned Companies That Pause Operations
While Geely has told Auto News that its Russian operations “had basically stopped” without providing further details, senior analyst focusing on Asia autos at Bernstein, Eunice Lee, said Western sanctions against Russia could help the Chinese gain market share in the automotive space.
“In the event that U.S. and European Union sanctions on Russia stay for a prolonged period of time and U.S. and European carmakers become effectively prohibited from doing business in Russia, there is potential for Chinese automakers to gain share in the Russia market,” Lee pointed out.
One Western car manufacturer expected to really suffer due to Russia’s invasion is Renault. The French car manufacturer owns Russia’s AvtoVAZ that operates the country’s largest brand, Lada, accounting for 24 per cent of the total automotive market. Russia is Renault’s second-biggest market globally and analysts expect vehicle output in the country to drop by as much as 70 per cent this year.
