Chinese cars winning over Russian market – envoy

The exodus of major global automakers has opened the door for Chinese brands

China exported over 160,000 cars to Russia last year, more than doubling its share of the country’s auto market, Chinese Ambassador to Moscow Zhang Hanhui has revealed.

In an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia on Friday, the Chinese diplomat noted that annual trade turnover between the two nations hit a record $190.27 billion last year, having jumped by nearly 30%.

“Cooperation in such areas as automobiles, household appliances, consumer electronics, has been developing rapidly,” Zhang said, adding that China’s auto supply was up by 33.4% over the year. “The share of Chinese brands in the Russian market has rapidly increased from 7% to 19.2%, the models of cooperation between enterprises were diversified,” Zhang reported.

The ambassador also highlighted that “in the field of consumer electronics, the share of exports to Russia amounted to $4.09 billion, demonstrating an increase of 9.3%.”

He noted that smartphones, TVs, washing machines, refrigerators and other products of Chinese brands have been winning consumer confidence in Russia.

“China and Russia have strong economic complementarity, a strong base for trade and economic cooperation, and broad prospects,” Zhang concluded.

READ MORE: Chinese firm may take over German car plant in Russia – media

The popularity of Chinese automobiles in Russia has been rising amid the exodus of European, American, Japanese and South Korean brands. Many automakers found it difficult to continue operations in the country due to logistical disruptions resulting from Western sanctions, particularly after deliveries of cars and spare parts to Russia were stopped.

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