The media reported the first excess of car imports from China over exports to the EU

Chinese car imports to the European Union (EU) exceeded European exports to China for the first time in 2025. This was reported on March 20 by BFM TV with reference to the results of a study by the Dutch consulting firm EY.

According to the report, sales of vehicles and spare parts from the EU to China fell by 34% in 2025 to €16 billion, while Chinese imports increased by 8% to €22 billion. The EU's trade surplus with China of €23 billion in 2019 has turned into a deficit of €6 billion in five years, the document says.

"This is an illustration of the 'Chinese shock' in Europe," the authors of the article write about the sharp increase in competition from Chinese manufacturers who are capturing the European market with cheap and high—tech goods.

Over the past three years, Europe's largest automakers have faced a deep crisis caused by weak demand for electric vehicles, competition from China, and high energy costs. Mercedes-Benz and Porsche recorded a sharp drop in profits in 2024-2025, and Porsche reported a loss of 99% of profits amid the crisis.

"Samurai" took off: why Russians rushed to buy Japanese cars

In February, Tenet replaced Chery, and Mazda and Toyota showed impressive growth in popularity.

On March 19, the analytical agency Autostat calculated the number of Chinese cars imported into Russia starting in 2022. It was clarified that from March 2022 to February 2026, 2.25 million passenger cars produced in China were imported to Russia. The Chery brand became the leader in passenger car imports (345.1 thousand), followed by Geely (301.2 thousand) and Changan (237.9 thousand), Haval and Omoda joined the top five. Toyota ranks first among non-Chinese brands (52.6 thousand), followed by Volkswagen and Mazda.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.