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- You have a package from Shanghai: more and more used cars from China are being imported into Russia
You have a package from Shanghai: more and more used cars from China are being imported into Russia
The import of used cars from China to our country has increased dramatically. At the same time, cars from European and Japanese brands produced at factories in China are mainly transported to Russia, not from Chinese automakers. Experts expect mass entry into the secondary market of the "Chinese" only in a few years. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
From China, but not "Chinese"
Since the beginning of the year, 69.3 thousand used passenger cars have been imported to Russia from China. This was announced by Sergey Tselikov, General Director of the analytical agency Autostat. This is 3.7 times higher than in January–November last year, he noted. According to the expert, the import of used cars from China began to actively gain momentum in the second half of last year, and at the end of last summer, at least 8 thousand cars were imported from China every month. By the end of last month, this number exceeded 10,000 — in November, 10,949 used cars were imported from China, said Sergey Tselikov.
As a result, according to Autostat, last month the share of cars from China in the total structure of used car imports reached 18.3%, while at the end of last year it did not exceed 6%.
At the same time, as Sergey Tselikov notes, among the used cars that are imported into Russia, models of European and Japanese brands predominate. The proportion of the actual "Chinese" is relatively small. For the most part, used Toyota, Volkswagen, Honda, BMW and Audi are imported, he said.
New channel
The main factor that contributed to a significant increase in imports of used cars from China was the sharp expansion of supply on the secondary market in China, Irina Frank, CEO of Frank Auto, told Izvestia. Recently, there have been many "fresh" cars produced in 2020-2022 with minimal mileage, she noted.
— For Russian importers, these vehicles have proved to be extremely attractive due to a combination of logistical advantages and a favorable price. This creates a good margin for dealers and, as a result, an attractive final value for our customer," Irina Frank said.
The expert explains the dominance of Toyota, Volkswagen and BMW in the import structure of second-hand cars from China by the fact that the import of cars of these brands assembled in unfriendly countries is complicated by a number of restrictions and is more logistically complex.
— The Russian buyer, wishing to minimize risks, is more willing to choose familiar and proven models, even knowing about their Chinese origin. Thus, trust in the global brand is combined with the economic logistics of alternative imports from China," said Irina Frank.
Igor Morzharetto, partner of Autostat, shares a similar point of view. According to him, given the difficulties and high cost of importing "purebred" models from European and Japanese companies, Russians have increasingly begun to prefer analogues produced at Chinese car factories and intended for the local market.
— As a rule, these are fairly "fresh" cars with low mileage. In terms of quality and set of options, they are in no way inferior to exactly the same models assembled in the EU or Japan. However, simple and intuitive logistics makes their prices more attractive. In fact, China has become a new channel for fueling the secondary car market in our country with models of European and Japanese brands," he told Izvestia.
A temporary phenomenon
The main reason for the sharp increase in used car imports from China, especially in the second half of the year, was due to the announced increase in recycling, said Roman Titov, Deputy General Director for Used Cars at Avilon Group.
— Buyers were in a hurry to arrange deliveries before December 1 in order to save on customs clearance. The highest demand was for cars in the higher price segment, starting from 3.5 million rubles, with a capacity of over 160 hp, mainly aged from three to five years," he said.
According to Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, the sharp increase in used car imports from China is temporary.
— It is obvious that the main share of imports fell on models more powerful than 160 hp. Now, when the rates of recycling for them for individual importers have increased significantly, their import into our country has become less attractive. I think that the balance will be different at the beginning of next year," he believes.
The "Chinese" in the secondary market must wait
As for the Chinese models, they will not appear on the Russian secondary market in large numbers soon, experts believe. For example, Irina Frank predicts this only in a few years. In order for cars to appear in sufficient numbers on the secondary market, they must first be sold new and serve the first owners, she explains.
— The boom in sales of new Chinese cars in Russia began only in the last couple of years, and these cars are simply not yet "ripe" for active entry into the secondary market. Their time will come when the owners of the new "Chinese" will start to massively change cars in 3-5 years, she believes.
At the same time, according to Roman Titov, such cars will enter the secondary market not at the expense of imports from China, but primarily at the expense of those cars that were previously sold new in our country.
— The share of Chinese cars in the used car market is growing naturally. In 3-5 years, as the fleet is updated, we will see a noticeable increase in the number of such cars on the secondary market," he believes.
Igor Morzharetto also believes that the main share of the used car market will be occupied by Chinese models that were previously sold new in Russia, rather than those that were imported with mileage. At the same time, the gradual growth of offers for the sale of such cars will begin no earlier than 2027, the expert believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
