New names: a dozen more car brands will appear in Russia
At least ten new brands will enter the Russian market this year. Some of them are brands specially created for cars manufactured in Russia. In addition, these are electric cars and hybrids from China, previously sold in Russia unofficially. Izvestia found out whether to wait for Lixiang in Russia with an official guarantee.
Mystical and mysterious
The former VW plant in the Kaluga region will begin production in the beginning of the second quarter of 2025. production of cars under the new Russian brand Tenet.
— This large and complex work will be organized in stages — from large—scale to small-scale assembly with a consistent increase in the level of localization," the press service of the AGR company, which carries out production, said. The technological partnership agreement provides for the creation of a single R&D center, as well as the development of a cluster of local suppliers.
Analysis of vehicle type approval data published in the Rosstandart database showed that under "mystical" the name will be used to assemble Chery cars. Also in the database there was an OTT for cars of the Esteo brand. According to the Chinese Cars portal, the brand's model range will be href="https://iz.ru/1842952/2025-02-21/na-eks-zavode-mercedes-benz-v-rf-nachnut-vypusk-avtomobilei-esteo " target="_blank">is based on Exeed.
The appearance of new products does not mean that the same models will no longer be sold under the original brands. So, the joint project of Sollers and JAC implies production of machines with both nameplates. They will differ in configuration options.
Jetour, a Russian car distributor, has registered domains for itself votour-motor.ru and votour-auto.ru , found out "Auto Mail".In the description of the Votour Russia public site, registered in one of the popular social networks, it was reported that it was about "the production and distribution of well-known passenger cars under a new brand." It is still unknown which machines are planned to be produced under the new brand. According to Auto Mail, Jetur Motor Rus also has other names in stock: Venxtor, Teres, Stelio and Reelm.
Will Lixiang and Zeekr come officially?
The Nordcross brand has not yet managed to enter the Russian market, but it has already changed its logo and a new image appeared in the Rospatent database. It was created by Slava Motors Rus to sell Zeekr, Lynk&Co, and Lotus cars, which were previously imported to us unofficially. The company is already presenting the Belgee model range in Russia — assembled in Belarus by Geely. In addition, in September last year, Slava Motors Rus launched the Geely Tugella crossover under the Knewstar brand and is preparing a second model — it appeared in the Rosstandart database under the factory index G12. Perhaps we are talking about a redesigned Geely Atlas crossover.
In the middle of February in Russia sales of premium Rox 01 SUVs have started. This is a sequential hybrid with a power plant capacity of 476 hp. The car was previously imported by gray dealers under the name Polar Stone 01, and now the Sinomach concern will sell it officially, for which it Russified the multimedia system and received an OTTS. Gray cars are planned to be blocked. The distributor also plans to introduce Xiaomi brand electric vehicles in Russia.
Some brands from China are not afraid to enter the Russian market under their own names. At the beginning of this year, official sales of futuristic Avatr electric crossovers started, previously these cars were supplied to our country through alternative channels. In April, sales of the Exlantix brand will begin — also officially. Two models will be sold in our country — an all-electric ES sedan and an ET crossover with a sequential hybrid powertrain, Ekaterina Komarova, a brand representative, told Izvestia.
Finally, at the end of February, a mysterious application for registration of the Lixiang trademark appeared in the FIPS database. At the same time, sales of Lixiang hybrids through unofficial channels decreased by 40% in January 2025 to January 2024, informs Autostat-Info.
Korean cars are coming back
It is not only Chinese and Russian companies that are introducing new brands to the Russian market. Under the name KGM the South Korean automaker formerly known as SsangYong is in hiding. In the near future, he plans to start selling three crossovers at once: Tivoli, Korando and Torres. Dealers will have a Rexton frame SUV in the fall.
The cars are officially delivered, they have received an OTTS, and there will be a company warranty of five years, or 100,000 km, said Vitaly Osipov, General Director of Rex Motors, a distributor of KGM.
By the end of the year, it is planned to establish production of these machines in the Kaliningrad region.
Commerce is separate
AvtoVAZ decided to follow the general example, as the Russian car giant also announced plans to launch a new brand.
"One of the marketing directions of AVTOVAZ is the development of not only the product line, but also the brand. We see a successful example of the Chinese market, where there is a variety of brands. We are following these trends and are working on the issue of launching another separate brand, which will characterize, among other things, our line of commercial vehicles," — saidat a press conference dedicated to the results of the year and plans for 2025, the president of the company Maxim Sokolov.
According to him, the commercial segment is currently underutilized and the demand for such cars is growing.
It is quite possible that news about the revived Russian brand Volga will appear during the year. The Volga line of cars was presented to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in May last year. It was planned to start production in 2024, and from 2025 to establish a full-cycle assembly.
A way to avoid sanctions and save money
The creation of new brands is a way to avoid possible sanctions, says Maxim Kadakov, editor—in-chief of Za Rulem.
— Our respected Eastern partners do not want to work with companies that are under sanctions. Each manufacturer has its own strategy. There are companies with and without state capital, with plans for Europe. There are those who are not afraid of anything," Kadakov said. He noted that the launch of a new brand implies serious financial investments.
By creating production facilities in Russia under new brands, automotive companies are striving to reduce the size of the significantly increased recycling fee, says Igor Morzharetto, partner at Autostat.
— They receive localization points for both R&D and assembly at the large—scale level," he said.
Earlier, analysts at the DRT Group of Companies estimated that the amount of potential savings from industrial subsidies received for R&D points is 61% of the investment amount. This allows an automaker with a special investment contract (SPIC) to significantly save money.
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