Chinese carmaker Chery has started assembling cars in Russia for sale in the country at three factories vacated by Western rivals including Volkswagen and Mercedes, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Chinese carmakers have grabbed more than half of Russia’s car market in terms of sales since most Western counterparts abandoned the country following Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Now, they are extending their reach to account for more of Russia’s domestic production, too, highlighting how Beijing is playing a more influential role in Russia’s changing manufacturing landscape and economy since the invasion.
In addition to finished car imports into Russia, Chery, which makes up almost a fifth of Russia’s passenger car sales, is importing nearly finished cars and completing the assembly in three Russian factories, the people said.
Four of the people, including dealers who manage relationships with the plants, declined to be identified because they are not authorised to speak to the media.
China’s biggest car exporter is likely to be betting on strong demand in the country as Russia’s domestic market struggles with limited output and underused production capacity, the sources said.
Chery said in a written statement it supplies the Russian market with passenger cars, but does not plan to build or buy its own factories there. It did not comment in response to Reuters’ questions about the assembly work at the factories.
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