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- In short, there is nowhere to go: Russians will be left without affordable imported subcompacts
In short, there is nowhere to go: Russians will be left without affordable imported subcompacts
Affordable B-class crossovers have begun to leave the Russian market, and at least nine models have been announced since the beginning of the year. Even the popular Tenet T4, localized less than a year ago, turned out to be among them. Izvestia found out what caused it and what Russian motorists should prepare for.
The life cycle is completed
The Tenet press service confirmed to Izvestia the information that had previously appeared in the media about the cessation of production of its most affordable and compact crossover T4. The company explains this, firstly, by the completion of the model's lifecycle, and secondly, by the increased demand for a more spacious family crossover.
The life cycle of the T4 turned out to be long — the model traces its lineage back to the Chery Tiggo 4 crossover, shown at the Beijing Auto Show back in 2014 and has since undergone several updates.
Despite its advanced age, the Four was in high demand in Russia and, after switching to the Tenet brand, became one of its bestsellers. However, during 2026, it began to lose ground, and in June it left the top ten market leaders, while the larger T4L model began to "gain momentum." The novelty is, in fact, close to the T7, but the price turned out to be slightly more expensive than the T4, which ensured its popularity.
On the one hand, the abandonment of the aging and declining model looks logical, on the other — its production began less than a year ago, and it joined the assembly line with welding and painting, and even received an all-wheel drive version, which was not there before.
List of losses
In addition, several more B-class crossovers left the market during the year, mostly budget models, many of which offered a starting price tag noticeably lower than two million rubles. Among the departed are the DFSK 500, Baic X35, Kaiyi X3 and X3pro of Russian assembly, the GAC GS3 and Jetour X50 supplied from China, as well as the Belarusian Belgee X50. To these, we can add the Chery Tiggo 4, which formally also left the market. The list of losses will grow: stocks of Solaris crossovers are coming to an end, dealers still have remnants of the JAC JS3, Livan X3 Pro 2024. The fate of the Changan CS 35 Plus is uncertain. Not only crossovers are leaving the segment, but sales of the Changan Alsvin budget sedan have been discontinued.
Not all models are completely gone — the X50 continued to exist as the "Belgee" X50+ and as the Geely Coolray. In fact, it is the same machine with a new design and increased length.
The empty segment is now occupied by Lada and two domestic manufacturers of electric vehicles — Evolute and Atom.
Out of competition
The new Lada Azimut crossover, which is scheduled to begin sales in the fourth quarter of this year, is slightly longer than the average B-segment car (4416 mm), but is likely to become one of the most affordable crossovers on the market.
In any case, the head of AVTOVAZ, Maxim Sokolov, called the production of the most affordable cars in terms of price a "historical mission of the brand." He promised that the company would do everything possible to ensure that prices for the new product were acceptable, competitive and comfortable.
At the same time, it will have a minimum of competitors, including among localized models.
According to an Interfax source, a special investment regime has been developed for the relaunched Russian plants, which should facilitate the resumption of car production directly in segments C, D and E, where Russian automakers are either not represented at all or are represented to a limited extent.
Russian car factories, which have been restarted since 2022 after the departure of foreign investors, will have relief in terms of localization requirements for their products and will be able to receive industrial subsidies from the state compensating for recycling.
To be eligible for state support under a special investment mechanism, a car must have a body length of 4.5 m or more, score at least 1.2 thousand localization points without R&D, and must also be issued under a SPIC, which is concluded with a Russian legal entity, where the controlling share (from 51%) belongs to a domestic investor.
A source at a major Russian automaker confirmed to Izvestia that cars over 4.5 m long are indeed subject to preferences.
As a result, the length of the new localized Tenet T4L, Jeland J6 and Volga K40 models exceeds 4.5 meters.
Carspreading in our way
The situation with the withdrawal of B-class crossovers from Russia is caused not only by regulatory measures to protect the largest domestic manufacturers, experts and market players interviewed by Izvestia note.
Cars are getting bigger — this is a global trend called "carspreading". A study conducted by the leading European environmental organization T&E shows that the average length of new cars increases by 1.2 cm per year. Their average height increases by 0.5 cm per year.
In Russia, the logic of car size growth manifests itself in a different way, says Ivan Trandin, owner of the KM/H group of companies. In the leading markets, the fleet grew mainly due to the upper segments: buyers switched from sedans to crossovers and full-size SUVs, while the lower "price floor" remained.
— In Russia, judging by the latest decisions of manufacturers, the opposite is happening: it's not so much the upper segments that pull the market up, but the "lower floor" of budget compact models that washes out itself, because it becomes less profitable for manufacturers and dealers. If the trend continues, the average size of a car sold in Russia will grow not due to the appearance of new large models, but due to the disappearance of small ones," noted Trandin.
Statistics from the Autostat agency confirm his words. If in the first half of 2025 the share of the SUV B subsegment was 23%, then in this half-year it decreased to 20%. The share of SUV C, on the contrary, increased from 39 to 40%, and the share of SUV D decreased from 27 to 25%. The second and third places after Granta in the bestseller list are occupied by C-segment crossovers — Tenet T7 and Haval Jolion.
Clear logic
Strict localization rules lead to a reduction in model ranges, says Igor Morzharetto, partner at Autostat. Manufacturers are focusing on models that sell better.
Nikolay Ivanov, Rolf's New Car Sales Director, drew attention to the fact that, for example, the Tenet T4L has become more spacious than the T4, but at the same time it has retained a close price positioning.
— For the buyer, this is an understandable logic: for the same or almost the same money, he gets more than the car. This strategy is well known to the Chinese market, where long versions of many models are traditionally in demand. A similar logic works in the Russian market: a car based on the same technical base, but with more space, becomes more attractive and can act as a sales catalyst," said Nikolai Ivanov.
Cars are expensive, and people choose a bigger car, says Anton Shaparin, vice president of the National Automobile Union (NAS).
— People would choose a smaller car and take a very small one if it was cheap. If a conditional Tata Nano were launched on the market now for a price of less than a million, it would be swept away," Shaparin believes.
You can't make money on a small one
According to him, automakers also have an understanding that it is easier to make money on cars that are bigger and more expensive.
— The automobile plant has variable and fixed costs. The variables are related to the size of the car, its complexity, and so on, while the constants are the conveyor belt, equipment, maintenance, personnel, and electricity, which, with low localization, is the main thing. But, accordingly, these fixed costs do not depend much on what class of car you produce," Shaparin noted.
The market is affected by two factors at once, and it is difficult to separate them completely, Ivan Trandin believes.
— On the one hand, the increase in car prices really changes the logic of choice. The difference in monthly fees between a subcompact and a compact crossover is now much less noticeable than the difference in interior space and vehicle status. Since the buyer pays a substantial amount anyway, he prefers to get a bigger car for it. On the other hand, manufacturers also have a direct commercial interest: a large model usually gives more margin on the same production base, therefore, it is more profitable to expand the model range upwards than to support the most budget segment. The regulatory factor may also be present here, but I would not call it decisive. But I would not talk about cleaning up the segment for a specific novelty, but about the fact that the market and regulatory vectors simply coincided in the direction," said Trandin.
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