Chinese cars? Sanctions leave Russians no choice
STORY: Russian car buyers have some new brand names to get their heads around.
Chinese makers have rushed in to fill the gap left by Western firms that have pulled out.
That leaves shoppers to learn about companies like Haval and Geely.
So far, the welcome is wary at best.
Car buyers Reuters spoke to were unsure about the quality of the new offerings.
At the price they’re charging, the plastics look cheap, says one man.
Auto journalist Sergey Aslanyan says that reflects a Russian perception that Chinese products are downmarket:
“If a person in Russia wants to put somebody down, they will say that ‘Hey, you have a Chinese phone or your car is Chinese.’ At the moment people are not that hungry to show demand for Chinese products. We need to end up like Cuba first - to turn into pedestrians over the years - and then maybe we will lower the expectations enough for Chinese cars.”
Sales figures tell a different story though.
Chinese brands now have almost 40% of Russia’s car market, up from less than 10% early last year.
The main driver may be the simple fact of availability.
In the eastern city of Vladivostok, Vladimir Shestak sells Western and Chinese brands:
“In light of all the recent events we mostly rely on Geely sales now. But we continue to sell Mercedes cars. Some of them are bought via parallel import, some are leftover stock from before.”
Russians increasingly have little choice, with most Western brands already gone.
Volkswagen's Skoda unit is currently in the final stages of negotiating a deal to sell its assets.
The departure of such firms was one factor in a near-60% slump in total car sales last year.
For many buyers, that means it may soon be a case of go Chinese, or catch the bus.
相關影片推薦
- 1:48富邦陳金鋒總教練上前抗議判決 遭驅逐出場中華職棒大聯盟影音10,598 次觀看・13 小時前
- 1:30雲林上千顆西瓜遭"割藤" 農民氣炸痛罵"沒天理民視影音15,777 次觀看・20 小時前
- 2:47唐綺陽運勢 / 本週星座運勢:4/22~4/28一周星象預報!適逢節氣交替,多注意身體健康!唐綺陽談星室9,503 次觀看・22 小時前
- 1:045/1確定無法全國放假! 「非勞工」仍要上班華視影音171,613 次觀看・22 小時前
- 1:48嘉義2診所醫師涉詐領健保 2醫師各50萬交保華視影音21,151 次觀看・15 小時前
- 1:40陳致遠夫婦被「落石砸車」 驚險畫面曝光|#鏡新聞鏡新聞94,932 次觀看・19 小時前
- 2:54巴黎奧運倒數 盤點多國隊服 法國開幕超「紳士」、日本「低碳」亮相Yahoo奇摩(國際通)10,249 次觀看・21 小時前
- 1:53朴信惠婚後首度來台! 朴寶劍與粉絲約定桃機大廳見民視影音5,132 次觀看・13 小時前
- 6:11強震來臨這3個縣市最危險 李鴻源曝災防都更因「票房毒藥」難行今天誰來沛280,265 次觀看・1 天前
- 2:01搶爆!台積電美廠徵水電工 台師傅:超心動東森新聞影音2,171 次觀看・13 小時前