Car dealers urged not to wait for the imminent return of brands that have left the Russian Federation

Rumors about the possible return of departed car brands disorient customers and raise false hopes through nostalgia about returning "as it was before." This opinion was expressed by Andrey Terlyukevich, CEO of Avtospeccenter Group of Companies, the Autostat news agency reported on March 13.

Any mass-market brand in the near future will not be able to compete in the Russian market without local production, he is sure. It is unlikely that consumers will overpay 30% for their love of the "returned brand", which will be the difference in recycling, Terlyukevich believes.

As Nikolai Ivanov, director of the new cars department at Rolf, noted, immediately after the news about the possibility of returning the departed foreign cars began to spread through the media and social networks, the company recorded a drop in traffic, which reached 20-30%. At the same time, no one will postpone the purchase of a new car until the return of the departed brands, he said.

"If they return, it will be no earlier than 2028. And the year is 2025. If a person is willing to wait three years, it means that he simply does not need a car right now, and he is waiting for a convenient moment, thinking that they will return very soon. No one will return anywhere in the next three years," Ivanov said.

In turn, Andrey Olkhovsky, General Director of Avtodom Group, also stated that there are no prerequisites for the return of the departed car brands in 2025. None of the big players will return until most of the sanctions on the car business are lifted.

Third run: Korean cars return to Russia

SsangYong models under a new brand will be assembled in Kaliningrad

The day before it was reported that sales of cars of the South Korean brand KGM, which was formerly called SsangYong, began in Russia. Rex Motors plans to start assembling KGM machines at the Avtotor plant in the Kaliningrad region. The start of car production is scheduled for autumn 2025. SsangYong cars have been sold in Russia since the mid-1990s, and the brand officially left the market in 2018. The company's return to Russia was announced in early November 2024.

On March 4, Nikolai Ivanov, director of Rolf's new car department, said that if Toyota returns to the Russian market, its cars will not cost less than those currently imported into Russia through alternative imports.