The new car brand Zubr, which appeared in Belarus at the end of last year, under which they wanted to produce Chinese Forthing cars, does not seem to be entering the republican market. As Motor found out, the dealership business accompanying Zubr is experiencing big problems – customers are warned about the closure of the company due to inspections by law enforcement agencies. And in car dealerships, under the guise of new cars, cars that were involved in accidents are given away.
A few weeks ago, billboards began appearing on the streets of Minsk announcing the imminent appearance of new Belarusian-made Zubr cars. A press release sent to journalists stated that the cars would be assembled by the local Unison automobile plant.
Almost instantly, the Belarusian Ministry of Industry hastened to announce literally the following: “Not a single enterprise in the industry has received official permission or other permitting documentation for the production of Zubr brand cars.”
The Unison plant mentioned by the Zubr press service reacted in a completely similar way, saying that the company does not plan to assemble equipment under this brand, and all the information published by the media is fake.
Recently, Zubr cars were photographed in the parking lot of one of the Minsk car dealerships. What they are doing there (as well as what the fate of the project is) is unknown. The cars themselves – five models – turned out to be renamed products of the Chinese brand Forthing.
Zubr Legenda
Zubr
Motor’s own correspondent went to one of the car dealerships to look at Zubr cars, interview the dealership’s managers and find out as many details as possible. Instead, the journalist met angry customers of the company.
It is important that the Zubr brand was planned to be promoted by Zubr Businessinvest LLC, which is affiliated with other legal entities of the dealer holding: Zubr Autogroup, Zubr Logistics, Zubr Businessinvest, Zubr Finance, Zubr Body Detail, Zubr Technical Service and Zubr West Trade.
All these companies have a similar name, field of activity, and registration address, but differ only in the numbers of premises within the same building. This holding has an extremely wide range of interests, which also includes the supply of cars from around the world. And now, according to the editors of Motor magazine, about 80 people cannot receive the equipment they ordered and paid for.
Car dealership of the company “Zubr”
“Zubr Autogroup”
Broken – instead of new
At a car dealership owned by the Zubr group, our correspondent met a client who was receiving a new BYD crossover. The meticulous buyer decided to check the uniformity of the paint with a thickness gauge, and was not without surprise when he discovered that the car had been restored after an accident.
He didn’t want to receive a damaged electric car instead of a new one, but the manager insisted: “Guys, you don’t understand. Another week – we’re bankrupt, and then… [ничего] you won’t get it. Do you understand? Therefore, take what you have – with the plastered arch, the painted door and everything else,” our correspondent witnessed the conversation.
The further dialogue continued in a raised voice, but the Zubr employee insisted: “Today or tomorrow the Department for Combating Economic Crimes (Motor) will come. They will put everyone on the floor. You will be left with nothing.”
The buyer honestly admitted: this was the most interesting acceptance of the car in his entire rich automotive biography. It is important to note that he was given the first BYD he came across, and not the one that was originally ordered – a different model, a different color.
There are cars, but no keys
This is just one example. Several clients of Zubr asked Motor magazine (the editors have the corresponding correspondence at their disposal) to find contacts of the head office of the Chinese company BYD in order to receive car keys by VIN number.
It turns out that some of the ordered cars were able to reach Belarusian temporary storage warehouses, but they could not be picked up, since the company refused to pay for delivery to the carrier. And he, as a kind of collateral, took the keys.
According to the data that the magazine was able to collect, the list of people still waiting for delivery of ordered cars now includes about 80 people, most of whom ordered cars more than six months ago – from April to June 2025.
“It is obvious to everyone that the Titanic is sinking. I don’t know what music is playing, but I do know that people can’t take their cars. If they take it away, then without the keys, it’s a complete mess, complete anarchy,” said an expert on the Belarusian car market, who wished to remain anonymous.
According to our interlocutor, he is personally trying to resolve the issue so that ten customers receive the keys to their paid BYD electric cars in any way. And in this matter, Zubr employees do not help their clients in any way.
“Fasted”
“We are all sure that the “Bison” fell (fell, splashed, broke – editor’s note). He ditched everyone. As I understand it, more than a dozen people were caught. There is no money in their accounts, and the cars that are parked have no keys,” another Motor interlocutor clarified.
The editors were able to get through to one of the company’s managers. “The management ran away, there is no money, there are no keys, and we will soon stop answering the phone,” answered the person at the other end of the telephone receiver.
It is important that when you try to call officially declared, rather than personal, employee numbers, an answering machine message is triggered: “The subscriber you are calling has turned off voice communication. The phone is not available.”
At the same time, a large company seems to have sharply reduced its staff: in any case, some of the staff are now responsible for car customers and no longer work for this holding. This was also previously reported by the Belarusian publication Onliner.
“Difficulties have arisen”
At the time of writing, the editors of Motor magazine had not received a comment from official representatives of Zubr. Prior to this, the holding clarified the situation to the Belarusian publication Onliner: “The issue regarding the company’s new project for the sale of new cars produced in Belarus is at the approval stage. The pause in it had negative consequences for us, but we are working to resolve the situation. The publication of the Ministry of Industry on the project caused certain difficulties, and therefore we had to reconsider our investment strategy.”
Also, some time ago, well-known Belarusian journalists (including our staff correspondent) received an explanatory letter.
“Yes, there have been difficulties with some contracts that we are solving. But if the long wait has become critical, we will compensate for the inconvenience either financially or select another car,” it said.
According to the magazine’s interlocutors, the advertising campaign for the future “Zubrov” began at a time when there were no specific agreements with the Unison plant and the authorities, which caused indignation among officials. And this is quite expected: a certain car dealer suddenly decided to call an unknown Chinese brand the main national symbol of the country.
The editors of Motor magazine continue to monitor developments.
