Car imports from China to Russia almost doubled in March

In March 2026, Russia almost doubled its annual imports of passenger cars from China and retained its status as their largest buyer. This was reported by RIA Novosti on April 20 with reference to Chinese customs statistics.

So, in early spring, imports increased 1.8 times compared to March last year, amounting to $1.109 billion. At the same time, imports increased by about a third on a monthly basis.

Brazil ($913.3 million) and Belgium ($803 million) also joined the top three largest buyers of Chinese passenger cars in March this year.

At the same time, the United States ranked only 20th in the ranking, with imports of Chinese passenger cars amounting to about $131 million.

According to the Autostat agency, China is still the leader in the new car segment in Russia in March, but its share is decreasing this year. Thus, in early spring, China accounted for 60% of all imports, while in February this figure was 67%, and in January — 78%.

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Earlier in the day, it was reported that by the end of the first quarter of 2026, 198.3 thousand new SUV segment vehicles, which includes crossovers and SUVs, were sold in Russia. The increase compared to January–March of last year was 21%.