Exeed, Li Auto and Tank are in the lead
In February 2024, in the Russian car market, three Chinese brands claiming premium status entered the top ten in terms of sales volumes. These are Exeed, Li Auto and Tank. For comparison, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi have never risen so high in the ranking even in the best times for the Russian market.
According to a study by «Discovery Auto» (automotive business unit of Otkritie Bank, part of the VTB Group), Exeed sold 3.4 thousand cars, Li Auto – 2.7 thousand, and Tank – 2 thousand SUVs. However, despite their high performance, these brands cannot yet be considered truly premium, since they lack some of the characteristics inherent in German and Japanese brands. But the study confirms that in the current market situation, some of those clients who previously chose German or Japanese premium have indeed already begun to switch to Chinese junior suites.
Other Chinese brands are leading in the mass segment. Haval remains the leader with 12.6 thousand cars sold, and Geely takes second place with 12.3 thousand cars sold. Chery was chosen by 9.9 thousand customers.
40-45% of its Geely sales in Russia continue to be provided by the compact crossover Jolion (5 thousand units, +13%), followed by the Haval M6, which buy 2-2.5 thousand cars monthly . The most popular Geely car remains the Monjaro crossover (4.4 thousand units, +20%). They also highlighted Changan with sales of 6 thousand cars in February 2024.
Most other Chinese brands in the Russian market face competition and sell cars in quantities of several hundred units.