Chinese carmaker Chery has started assembling cars in Russia at three factories, including assembly capacities vacated by Volkswagen, Nissan and Mercedes, Reuters reports citing unnamed sources.
As followed by bne IntelliNews, amid an exodus of Western and Japanese carmakers from Russia, Chinese car brands have taken over the car market and are poised to take over vacant assembly capacities.
According to Reuters’ sources, Chery imports nearly finished cars to Russia and completes the assembly in three local facilities, in part due to Russia raising fees on imported cars to encourage greater localisation.
Namely, Chery's Tiggo SUV and Exeed are assembled in Russia. At the former Nissan plant the Tiggo 7 is reportedly being rebranded as the Xcite X-Cross 7 and sold as a Russian-made car. Tiggo’s are also assembled in Kaluga at a former Volkswagen plant now controlled by car dealer AGR Automotive.
Chery's export strategy is known as "semi knocked down" (SKD), one of the sources told Reuters, with Tiggo models arriving at the Kaluga plant almost completely assembled.
Chery's Exeed VX mid-size luxury crossover is reportedly being assembled at a former Mercedes plant in Esipovo, the Moscow region, now controlled by Avtodom car dealer.
Chinese carmakers Chery, Haval and Geely have made it to the top ten largest companies in Russia, according to the latest update of the foreign company rating by Forbes, which is still dominated by Western tobacco, FMCG and retail majors.
Related Articles
Russia in talks to buy 1,000t of Niger uranium amid Sahel realignment, fading French influence
Russia is in talks to purchase around 1,000 tonnes of uranium from Niger in a deal valued at approximately $170mn, according to French security assessments cited by Le Monde. The reported ... more
Malawi probes alleged recruitment of young women into Russia’s Alabuga drone plant
Malawian authorities are examining reports that young women from the country may be among those recruited into Russia’s Alabuga industrial complex, where foreign trainees have allegedly been forced ... more
Kenyan president thanks Ukraine for helping free citizens duped into fighting for Russia
Kenyan President William Ruto has thanked his Ukrainian counterpart for helping secure the release of Kenyan nationals who authorities say were illegally recruited to fight on behalf of Russia in the ... more
Most Read
-
India’s smart metering push gains momentum
4 months ago
-
US expands oil sanctions on Russia
23 days ago
-
India’s smart metering push gains momentum
4 months ago