Replacing the Smartphones
Chinese manufacturers were already popular in Russia before the war, covering almost 40% of the smartphone market at the end of 2021. A year later, the share was 95%, Counterpoint Research says. On the contrary, Samsung and Apple, who before the invasion occupied the first two places in the popularity chart, dropped from 53% to just 3% after leaving the country. The bestseller´s name is Xiaomi these days. The brand doubled its market share throughout the last year by selling its popular Redmi line, known for being affordable with high camera quality.
European Cars: Drop in Sales
A similar situation exists on the car market. According to data from S&P Global Mobility, European brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi almost disappeared from sales points in Russia. Together with Japanese cars, their sales have slumped by the end of 2022. Now, Chinese carmakers Chery and Great Wall Motor have jumped into the top 10 passenger vehicle brands.
“It left a huge hole in the market,” said Tu Le, founder of Beijing-based consulting firm Sino Auto Insights. “And the Chinese are glad to fill that hole.” Only the homegrown vehicle Lada, the most popular brand in Russia over many decades, still keeps its leading car market position. Its market share has grown from approximately 22% to 28% in 2022, according to S&P data.
Is the New Moskwitsch Chinese?
Last autumn, another Russian brand, Moskvitch, was relaunched. The car named in Russian after every inhabitant of Moscow (in Russian, a man coming from the city of “Moskva” is “Moskvitch”) has a long history. Starting car production in 1956 and experiencing many innovations in design and engine in communist times, the brand ended up in bankruptcy at the end of the 1990s. Then, the French company Renault occupied the factory, producing different cars.
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After Renault’s withdrawal from the country last spring, Moskvitsch 3 came back. The vehicle’s new design is nearly identical to that of China’s JAC’s Sehol X4 compact crossover, intended as a representation of Russia’s resistance to Western sanctions. According to Reuters, JAC’s design and engineering were being used, with parts being delivered from China. But the plant’s project manager, Maxim Klyushkin declined to confirm that the Chinese firm was involved.
“We have (Russian truck maker) Kamaz as an external partner, and we have a long-distance partner we are working with,” he said. “We are not naming that partner.”
