Repackaging: new car brands continue to enter the Russian market
New car brands with more unusual names continue to enter the Russian market. The Russian holding AGR, following Tenet and Jeland, launches the Esteo brand. The Senat 900 sedan will be shown at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Sales of the revived Volga will begin in the summer. At least five new brands are expected in total. Izvestia found out how not to get confused by the variety of names and whether it is worth remembering them at all.
That's the way
AGR Holding presented the first model of the new Russian brand Esteo, the mid—size crossover MX. It will be produced at the plant in St. Petersburg Shushary, and sales are scheduled to begin in the summer of 2026. MX is a restyled version of the Exeed TXL, this car was shown to journalists back in 2024.
The Esteo MX, in addition to a heavily redesigned exterior, also received a completely new interior with three displays and a minimum of physical keys. The crossover will be presented only with a two-liter turbo engine (197 hp), a classic eight-speed automatic and an all-wheel drive system.
Esteo MX
The name, as explained in the AGR, is formed from the Latin words est ("exists") and eo ("path").
Starting with Tenet, the Russian holding company, in cooperation with the Chinese company Defetoo, is gradually renaming its localized brands to Chery. In addition to Esteo, the production of Jaecoo cars under the Jeland brand has been established in Shushary. It was also announced that cars under the Tenet Plus brand, which hides the Lepas brand, will appear in Russia.
The St. Petersburg "Senate"
In St. Petersburg, but already at the former Toyota plant, the production of Senat cars, a more affordable alternative to the luxury Aurus, will be launched. The Senat 900 sedan is scheduled to be presented at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in early June.
The novelty is 5.14 m long and resembles the Hongqi H9 in appearance and characteristics, but with an appearance modified in the Aurus style.
It is already known that the car is equipped with a V6 3.0 gasoline engine with a now rare compressor boost, which develops 326 hp and 450 Nm. It is combined with an 8-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. According to Izvestia, the transformation of Hongqi into the Senat 900 was preceded by serious tests and improvements to the technical part.
The revival of the domestic
Sales of cars of the revived Russian Volga brand will begin in the summer. The model range is already known — the K40 and K50 crossovers, as well as the C50 sedan. All of them are localized versions of Geely Atlas, Monjaro and Preface cars. They will be collected, of course, in Nizhny Novgorod.
Volga brand K40 crossover
Another revived brand is Russo—Balt, the rights to the pre-revolutionary brand are owned by a company from Perm. They plan to produce electric vehicles in the style of the Tesla Cybertruck under it. An F200 van with a stainless steel body has already been shown. It is equipped with an electric motor with a capacity of 200 hp and a battery with a capacity of 115 kW/h, which allows you to travel 400 km on a single charge. They plan to get Vehicle Type Approval for the van by the end of the year.
A presentation of the C55 passenger car is scheduled for the summer. The crossover shown in the renders resembles a redesigned Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup truck. The body is also made of stainless steel, and the power plant is a dual-engine system with a capacity of 550 hp, and optionally it can consist of four electric motors with a total capacity of 1000 hp.
What China is preparing
Chinese companies are cautiously introducing new brands to the Russian market. For example, the Exlantix brand was launched in close conjunction with the Exeed brand, while the Deepal brand is currently positioned as a Changan sub-brand.
Exeed Exlantix ES car
The FAW concern has applied for the state registration of the Joyee trademark in Russia. The Joyee brand appeared in China last year, and its line includes electrified cars as part of the FAW Bestune sub-brand. They are positioned as technologically advanced and affordable electric cars and hybrids for young people.
Beijing Automobile Works (BAW) has acquired a general distributor in Russia and decided to rename its SUVs BAW 212 T01. Now official vehicles will be imported under the 212 brand, and the abbreviation BAW will be removed. That is, cars will be called 212 T01, 212 T02 and so on. Such a decision is unlikely to change anything in the Russian market. We remember the BAW brand only for its fast-rusting trucks, and stylish SUVs began to be delivered to Russia recently, using alternative routes.
On a formal basis
The renaming is mainly caused by fear of secondary sanctions, says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem.
— This is, of course, a kindergarten. Anyone who wants to will find out "where the legs grow from" from the same Esteo. But if a company goes public, for example, they check its direct links with sanctioned companies. They find a connection with some export suppliers in China, and no one forbids this. Formally, it works according to all international protocols," Kadakov said.
According to him, few people care about the value of the brand.
— If a normal car is offered at an adequate price in every sense, it doesn't matter what it will be called. It will also work in the opposite direction. The brand itself, old or new, known or unknown, is just the beginning of the conversation. Maybe the brand is unknown, unsuccessful, but the car is good, the price is adequate, which means it will be sold. Or maybe the brand is beautiful and cool, but everything else is not very good, and no one will buy it at any price. Tenet magically managed to actually replace the main Chery models. It's not at all certain that other brands will succeed. Therefore, we will continue to observe this seething in various ways for quite a long time," said the editor—in-chief of Za Rulem.
Customers may experience a lack of focus.
A large number of new car brands are indeed appearing on the Russian market, but not in all cases we are talking about completely new products, Nikolai Ivanov, Rolf's new car sales director, told Izvestia.
JELAND J6 car
— For example, Jeland is, in fact, a combination of the Omoda and Jaecoo lines under a new name, while Volga uses platforms and cars already familiar to the market. That is, for the consumer, it is not always an unknown car, but rather a repackaging of an already understandable product. Of course, at some point, some buyers may experience a certain lack of focus due to the large number of new titles. But over the past few years, the Russian market has already adapted to the constant emergence of new brands, name changes and the transformation of model lines. In addition, manufacturers and dealers try to maintain continuity. Very often, new brands continue to be associated with well-known platforms, technologies, and even showrooms. For example, many customers still perceive Tenet through its association with Chery. This helps to maintain the trust of the audience and makes the transition more comfortable for the client," said Nikolai Ivanov.
He named the right product and its compliance with market expectations as the success factors of the new brand. The Russian buyer wants a modern, technological and understandable car for an adequate price. Marketing support, recognition, the availability of a dealer and service network, the availability of spare parts and an understandable warranty policy are also of great importance. The model range plays a separate role.
— About 75-80% of new car sales in Russia are in the SUV and crossover segment. Therefore, brands with at least 70% of the model range being crossovers initially gain a stronger market position, Nikolai Ivanov explained.
They choose according to clear criteria
The abundance of new car brands will not necessarily confuse the buyer, but will complicate the decision-making process, says Marina Popova, executive director of Brand Analytics.
— Consumers choose based on clear criteria, such as price, warranty, and user reviews on social networks and online platforms. If a brand explains in an accessible way what makes it better, and there are good test drives or reviews, customers can easily find this information online. In the case of new brands on the Russian market, the importance and significance of each mention on the Web increases. Here they need to react very quickly to any mentions of themselves — to correctly convey information and dispel any doubts of consumers," said Marina Popova.
The importance of reputation
Meanwhile, according to a study by the Sidorin Lab agency, Toyota is the automaker with the best reputation, Kia is in second place, and BMW is in third. Chinese automakers are not among the top three. The best result among them was shown by Chery, who took seventh place.
— Toyota, like Mercedes, like BMW, and like Ferrari and Rolls-Royce, will be sold regardless of the situation. In other quantities, certainly not the same as before, but these are the brands that sell themselves. Despite all the obstacles, despite all the fears, despite the lack of official support, Maxim Kadakov believes.
Earlier, experts expressed the opinion that the number of car brands in Russia will decrease.
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