Does not give the go-ahead: South Korea resisted the supply of cars to Russia
South Korean customs has reported the detention of four people for exporting more than a thousand used cars to Russia and Belarus. Brands that left for the Russian Federation are still popular in our country, and experts call South Korean and Japanese companies the first in line to return to the Russian market. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
They created an appearance
The Incheon Regional Customs Office (Republic of Korea) has detained a group of people suspected of illegally exporting used cars to sanctioned countries, including Russia, without proper authorization, Chosun Daily reports.
Four people, including a representative of an export company and an employee of a transport agency, are accused of exporting 1024 used cars with an engine capacity of more than 2 liters worth 50.7 billion won (3.2 billion rubles at the current exchange rate) to Russia and Belarus without the permission of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the period from March 2024 to December 2025. of the year. They are also accused of receiving 279.6 billion won (17.7 billion rubles) in virtual assets as export earnings, which is equivalent to 4,836 used cars (including models with an engine capacity of less than 2,000 cc).
According to the investigation, the cars were ordered via social media, and the organizers of the deliveries forged documents to create the appearance of exports to neighboring countries. They avoided tracking financial flows by receiving payments in cryptocurrency.
Separately, the Incheon Customs Service imposed a fine of 11 billion won for violating the law on foreign exchange transactions.
Growth with mileage
In 2024, South Korea tightened the ban on the supply of cars to Russia. He touched upon cars with an engine volume of more than two liters, both new and used.
Nevertheless, according to the Autostat agency, it was the Republic of Kazakhstan that in 2025 became one of the main sources of alternative imports of used cars. From there, 110.7 thousand cars were imported to Russia, which was twice the result of 2024 and four times the result of 2023. The import of new cars also showed a significant increase (269%), but the quantitative result was modest — 12.2 thousand cars. Not only Hyundai, Kia and Genesis were transported from South Korea, but also BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Porsche. Moreover, BMW exported even more to Russia than Hyundai — 22 thousand against 16.6 thousand.
According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), exports of new cars declined in 2025, while used car exports increased by 75%. The surprise for analysts was that Kyrgyzstan provided the greatest growth, where only two hundred new cars and as many as 130 thousand used cars were imported.
It's easier to bring from China
Due to the introduction of a "protective" recycling rate for cars with a capacity of over 160 hp, imports of powerful cars from South Korea to Russia collapsed. In the first half of 2026, 3.6 thousand new cars were imported from this country (minus 45% by 2025) and only 16.1 thousand used cars (minus 61%).
The situation with stricter control over the export of cars is similar to the imitation of the activities of customs officers, suggests Anton Shaparin, vice-president of the National Automobile Union.
— In any case, this is a significant amount. If someone in the Korean customs service has eyes and at least a few brain cells, they will always see such a pattern. Therefore, it is not surprising. Koreans are a meticulous people," he noted.
At the same time, there are no problems with the supply of cars with an engine capacity of up to two liters from South Korea, car blogger Elena Lisovskaya told Izvestia. However, due to the unfavorable exchange rate, cars are noticeably more expensive than, for example, in China.
More than a third of new cars of global brands are now imported from China, according to Autostat. For example, almost all Nissan and Volkswagen imported to Russia are assembled at factories in China. The share of Chinese Kia — 66%, Hyundai — 46%.
The secret of popularity
Toyota and Mazda are in demand from Japanese brands, Hyundai and Kia from Korean brands, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes—Benz and Skoda from European brands, Nikolai Ivanov, director of the New car Sales department at Rolf Group, told Izvestia.
— The current demand for these brands is based on the economics of supply. It consists of the ruble-yuan exchange rate, discounts from the overstocked Chinese market and a preferential recycling fee for engines with a capacity of up to 160 hp. Together, they bring the retail price of a Japanese, Korean or European model to the level of a mass crossover in a "rich" configuration. It is this coincidence in price that translates interest into purchase," he noted.
According to the expert, Hyundai's Tucson, Santa Fe and Staria are still in demand, while Kia's Sportage, Seltos and Carnival are in demand. In other words, this set actually repeats the product line that shaped the sales of Korean brands in Russia four years ago.
Sales of new passenger cars of Korean brands in the Russian market in January–July of this year amounted to about 11 thousand units, an increase of 34% year-on-year, calculated in "Autostat". Kia remains the leader among Korean brands, accounting for 50.6% of all sales, with 5.5 thousand vehicles. This is a 36% increase, partly due to the high demand for the compact Seltos crossover: its sales tripled to 2.8 thousand units.
Additional dynamics are provided by the KX1 and K3 models, supplied mainly from China. Hyundai's sales, on the contrary, decreased by 7% and amounted to 3.1 thousand vehicles.
The KGM brand showed the most significant growth: its sales more than quadrupled in seven months to 2,000 vehicles. Currently, it is the only global Korean manufacturer that carries out official deliveries of new cars to Russia, says Sergey Tselikov, director of the Autostat analytical agency. The "Korean exotic" segment is formed by the premium Genesis (127 cars) and Samsung (86 cars).
At the same time, there is still demand for Solaris cars assembled in St. Petersburg from Kia and Hyundai car kits, said Sergey Tselikov. Their sales decreased by 7.5% to 12.8 thousand units, but this figure still exceeds the total sales of all Korean brands. The total share of Korean brands and Solaris exceeded 3% of the Russian automotive market in seven months.
Should I wait for the return
Korean car brands may be the first to return to the Russian market in the event of normalization of the geopolitical situation and easing of the sanctions regime, said Sergey Tselikov, director of the analytical agency Autostat.
"The Koreans will be the first to arrive — Kia and Hyundai. The second are the Japanese, for example, Subaru, Mazda, Toyota," said Tselikov.
Not all experts will share his optimism. The chances of Hyundai and Kia returning are zero, Anton Shaparin believes.
— No one will give anything to anyone and no one needs anyone anymore. If the return takes place with the localization and signing of the SPIC, which I do not believe, then AGR's investments in restarting the plants will suffer greatly. And AGR has the potential to become not the second, but the first producer in Russia," Shaparin believes.
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