The dealer explained the increase in sales of non-Chinese foreign cars in Russia

The growth in sales of European brand cars in the Russian market in 2026 does not mean that buyers are abandoning Chinese cars en masse. Rather, we are talking about restoring demand for familiar brands such as BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, whose audience remained loyal even after the manufacturers left Russia. Yulia Ovchinnikova, Deputy General Director of Avilon dealer holding, shared this opinion with Izvestia.

"At the same time, it is important to understand that a significant part of these cars today comes from China. In fact, the Chinese manufacturing base allows us to meet the demand for European brands through parallel import channels. Therefore, it is not entirely correct to contrast "Europeans" and "Chinese" in this case," Ovchinnikova explained.

She noted that an additional driver for the growth of sales of non-Chinese foreign cars was the preferential recycling for cars with a capacity of up to 160 hp, which helps to maintain the attractive cost of a number of Volkswagen, Skoda, Renault and other brands. However, the growth is largely due to the effect of last year's low base, the expert pointed out.

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Chinese brands have flooded the market, with their share exceeding 15%.%

"We expect further moderate growth of European brands, but it is too early to talk about the return of their previous market share. Chinese brands still account for the bulk of sales, while European cars occupy a niche of brand—oriented buyers, familiar quality and high residual value," said Avilon's Deputy General Director.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article: Tired of China: sales of European car brands increased in Russia