The Russian used car market continues the pattern of "Japan ranks first and China ranks second." In the first half of the year, China imported 50,500 vehicles, accounting for 24.6%, a year-on-year increase of 124%, and the growth rate is much higher than that of other major source countries...

According to the latest data released by Sergey Tselikov, head of Russian automotive data agency Autostat, in the first half of 2026, Russiaimported a total of 391,500 passenger cars, a significant year-on-year increase. Among them, 186,300 new cars were imported, a year-on-year increase of 25%; 205,200 used cars more than 3 years oldwere imported, a year-on-year increase of 13%. Overall, Russia's automobile import demand still maintains growth, while the import source structure continues to adjust.

The new car market is still dominated by China. Data shows that in the first half of this year, Russia imported 130,500 new cars from China,accounting for 70% of the total new car imports, a year-on-year increase of 14%. In contrast, it is Kyrgyzstan that really attracts market attention. According to Zelikov, Russia imported 35,200 new cars throughKyrgyzstan in thefirst half of the year, accounting for 18.9%, a year-on-year increase of 192%, almost three times that of the same period last year, becoming the fastest growing source. South Korea continued to decline, importing only 3600 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 45%.

It is generally believed in the industry that the surge in imports from Kyrgyzstan does not mean a sudden increase in local automobile manufacturing capabilities. It more reflects the changes in logistics and trade paths within the Eurasian Economic Union and the further strengthening trend of some vehicles entering the Russian market through Kyrgyzstan.

The used car market continues the pattern of "Japan ranks first and China ranks second." In the first half of the year, Japanexported 117,700 used carsto Russia, accounting for 57.3% of all used car imports, a year-on-year increase of 31%;China exported 50,500 vehicles, accounting for 24.6%, a year-on-year increase of 124%, and the growth rate is much higher than that of other major source countries. South Korea's second-hand car imports continued to shrink sharply, reaching only 16,100 units, a year-on-year decrease of 61%.

Zelikov also mentioned that 96% of used cars currently imported into Russia have engine power of no more than 160 horsepower. This change is closely related to Russia's adjustment of the calculation method of back charges (утилиза р и о н ный сбо р). After the implementation of the new policy, the import cost of high-power models has increased significantly, and market demand has rapidly shifted to models with lower displacement and power, and easier overall costs to control. This is also an important reason for the decline in imports from traditional sources such as South Korea, Georgia and the United Arab Emirates.

It is worth mentioning that Autostat previously released data shows that new car sales in Russia reached 116,300 units in June 2026, a month-on-month increase of nearly 30%, which also reflects that the Russian auto market is still recovering.

written in the end

China has firmly ranked as the largest source of new cars in Russia, and has also maintained the fastest growth rate in the used car market, indicating that China's car sources are being accepted by more and more Russian consumers. On the other hand, the logic of car selection in the Russian market is changing. Tax and fee policies make medium and low power models more competitive. In the future, export opportunities for economical cars, compact SUVs and hybrid models may further increase.

Source: Guangdong Good Car

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