Experts compared the top car sales in 2020 and 2025 in Russia

From 2020 to 2025, the Russian car market underwent a profound transformation: Chinese crossovers replaced Korean and Japanese models. At the same time, only one car has retained the absolute leadership: Lada Granta has remained in first place for all six years. This was reported to Izvestia on December 2 by Avito Auto experts, who compared the top 10 most popular new cars on the platform.

The list of the most in demand in 2020 was headed by Lada Granta, Hyundai Solaris and Lada Vesta, the top ten also included Kia Rio, Hyundai Creta, Volkswagen Polo, Toyota Camry, Lada 4x4, Lada Largus and Kia Sportage. By 2025, the top ten had changed: along with Lada models, Haval Jolion and M6, Jetour Dashing, Chery Tiggo 4 and Tiggo 7 Pro Max, Omoda C5 and Geely Monjaro were included in this list.

Lada Granta has been consistently ranked first in terms of sales in Russia for more than 10 years, and Vesta is consistently among the top three users. At the same time, this year for the first time in six years, Niva Legend, an updated version of the classic 4X4, got into the top 5.

Another striking market trend has been the popularization of the SUV. Russian buyers choose cars in this segment for their versatility, a combination of practicality and comfort, experts said. So, in 2025, 8 of the 10 most popular new cars are representatives of the SUV category, including Haval Jolion, Lada Niva Legend, Jetour Dashing, Haval M6, Omoda C5, Chery Tiggo 4 and 7 Pro Max, Geely Monjaro. At the same time, in 2020, the list of the most in demand included only 3 off-road models: Hyundai Creta, Lada 4x4 (Niva), Kia Sportage.

Analysts also noted the consolidation of new models in the top, which do not have a long history in the Russian market. The Moskvich 3 appeared in 2022 and quickly became one of the most popular cars. Soon enough, other "debutants" entered the rating, such as Jetour Dashing and Haval M6 — this is considered a sign that users are loyal to new players.

Experts noted that in 2024, buyers often came to the platform with a general request for a car of a Chinese brand, but now they are increasingly formulating precise requirements: a specific model, configuration, and even technical parameters. This indicates the completion of the initial stage of acquaintance with new brands and the transition to the stage when the choice becomes conscious and detailed, as it happened earlier with Korean and Japanese brands.

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Earlier in the day, it was reported that Russian car factories have started assembling cars of the Chinese brands Jetour, Changan and Soueast. Previously, it was not officially reported that these models were put on the assembly line of domestic enterprises.

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