Showrooms of Chinese auto brands are closing more often in Russia

Last year, 449 points stopped working, writes Kommersant, citing data from Gazprombank Autoleasing and AutoBusinessReview. Most often, the initiators were dealers, but often the contracts were broken by partners from China who set strict conditions. The opening of Chinese car dealerships has also become less frequent: in 2024, 964 new outlets opened in the country, which is one and a half times less than in 2023.

Despite the accelerated pace of closures, the number of car dealerships of Chinese brands is still growing. Last year their number increased by 2.8 thousand, or almost 20 percent. Their share in the Russian dealer network of 4.16 thousand showrooms has grown to approximately 67 percent.

The Belarusian-Chinese Belgee opened the most points of sale last year – 135 units. Second place went to Solaris with 86 points (or 90 according to the nonsense itself), third place to Haval with 75. GAC and Soueast opened 58 and 57 new car dealerships, respectively.

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In general, Chery is the leader in the number of sales points among the “Chinese” – it has 216 of them. However, the increase in 2024 was modest and amounted to only 4.3 percent. Second place is occupied by Geely (206 showrooms, +21.2 percent), third by Changan (197 showrooms, +22.4 percent). Omoda and Jaecoo opened 180 and 177 outlets respectively.

The top 10 also includes Exeed, FAW and JAC, which had fewer DCs last year. Exeed ended the year with 115 operating locations (-4.2 percent), FAW with 107 (-16.4 percent), JAC with 105 (-13.2 percent).

In December, the showrooms of the Chinese brand Skywell, which appeared in the Russian Federation at the end of 2022, began to close. Cars are running out and dealers don’t know if there will be new supplies. Other unpopular brands are also under threat: according to experts, the range of “Chinese” brands will soon begin to decline due to recycling fees, the fall of the ruble, high refinancing rates and other factors.

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