Low-power growth: the structure of new car imports has changed in Russia
In the first half of the year, imports of new cars to Russia increased by 25%. Despite the fact that China remains the main supplier, the brand structure of imports has changed significantly. This is primarily due to the new rules for calculating the recycling fee that came into force at the end of last year, experts say. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Grow big
Since the beginning of the year, 186.3 thousand new (up to three years old) cars have been imported to Russia. This was announced by Sergey Tselikov, General Director of the analytical agency Autostat. He noted that compared to the first half of last year, car imports to our country increased by 25%. 70% of new cars come from China, said the head of Autostat.
At the same time, as Sergey Udalov, the agency's executive director, emphasizes, the structure of car imports in the first half of the year has changed significantly. Compared to the first six months of last year, shipments of Mazda, Toyota and Volkswagen increased significantly. Moreover, we are talking specifically about cars assembled in China, he noted. All of them are supplied to us exclusively through alternative channels.
"We practically don't see Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi cars in imports anymore," the source said.
Meanwhile, last year, these premium brands, despite the general decline in the market, showed good positive dynamics. For example, BMW added more than 31%, Mercedes-Benz and Audi grew by about 25%. Sales of some models, for example, the Hyundai, Audi SQ8 and RSQ8 crossovers, as well as the "charged" BMW M3 and M4, even exceeded the pre-sanctions level last year, when these cars were officially introduced to the Russian market.
New leaders
According to the results of the first half of the year, other players are becoming leaders in alternative automobile imports. According to Autostat, over 11.7 thousand new Mazda cars have been registered in six months. According to Sergey Tselikov, sales of models of this Japanese brand increased by 8.6 times compared to the same period last year (1,362 units in January–June 2025).
"The result of the first half of the year is comparable to the sales level of Mazda until 2022, when the official distributor was engaged in deliveries and the CX-5 model was assembled in the Far East," said the head of Autostat in his Telegram channel.
He pointed out that the current record performance of the brand is provided primarily by CX-5 crossovers (96% of them are produced in China) with a two-liter naturally aspirated engine with a capacity of 150 hp. Since this power unit is insensitive to fuel quality, given the current fuel situation, this model can remain among the leaders of alternative imports for a long time and "can even many Chinese people with their high-powered turbo engines can be "put on their shoulders," says Sergey Tselikov.
Toyota became the second record holder in the first half of the year (cars are also supplied to Russia only through alternative channels), which doubled sales. According to Autostat, almost 16.6 thousand cars of this brand were registered in six months, 89% of them were produced in China.
Unlike Mazda, Toyota does not have a pronounced sales engine in Russia. More than a third of the cars sold in the first half of the year accounted for the RAV4 crossover (5,8 thousand units). The Highlander model turned out to be slightly less popular (5.4 thousand cars). The Toyota Camry business class sedan is in third place with a score of 3.1 thousand. The remaining models of the Japanese automaker account for 14% of all cars sold in six months of this brand, said Sergey Tselikov.
The growth in sales of Mazda and Toyota cars indicates that some buyers, especially in the middle and upper price segment, remain loyal to Japanese brands and are willing to pay for a reliable and understandable product, says Ivan Trandin, owner of the KM/H group of companies.
Betting has changed the market
The change in the structure of imports of new cars and certain segments of the automotive market is primarily due to the introduction of new rules for calculating the recycling fee at the end of last year, experts say. This explains the growing interest in some car models and the decline in imports and sales from others, they explain.
—Measures to change recycling rates for cars with an engine capacity of more than 160 hp have greatly reshaped the market," said Sergey Udalov, Executive Director of Autostat.
There are models in the Mazda and Toyota line that fit into preferential recycling rates, which is why there has been increased interest from customers, explains Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine. According to him, these cars are mostly purchased by those who do not want a Chinese or domestic car, and other models are no longer affordable due to the introduction of a 160 hp bar for preferential recycling rates.
— In addition, the attitude of buyers towards cars imported through alternative channels has changed. Practice has shown that there are no problems with the maintenance of such machines, despite their Chinese origin, they feel good in Russian conditions. This has also become an additional factor in the growing interest in them," Maxim Kadakov told Izvestia.
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