Consumers and channels are paying increased attention to models "from China but using naturally aspirated engines"...

[AUTOSTAT News] On the eve of the upcoming Russian Automobile Business Forum ForAuto-2026 on February 26, AUTOSTAT quoted the judgments of many industry people as saying that Russia's new version of "recycling fee"(commonly known in the industry as "recycling fee", utylsbor) billing rules have begun to affect the model structure of new cars imported in parallel (alternative channels): the rising landing costs of high-power models are squeezing out of the supply chain.

Dmitry Parshentsev, director of new car sales at MAJOR Group, told AUTOSTAT that "popular production models with more than 160 horsepower are gradually leaving the supply chain" on the market, including the popular Geely Monjaro in Russia and "some similar China models in the same form." He also mentioned that the parallel import space of high-end electric and hybrid vehicles in China is also significantly shrinking, involving models such as Lixiang, Zeekr, and Lynk Co."The cost brought by the refund charges is combined with restrictions from China, making the economics of this business more unstable."

Marina Zanarevskaya, commercial director of logistics company Matologics Plus, also believes that the new rules are particularly sensitive to the impact of the Monjaro, which is equipped with gasoline engines and already sells well in Russia; at the same time, market interest in Zeekr and ideal models has also cooled significantly. She observed an opposite trend: consumers and channels are paying increasing attention to models "from China but using naturally aspirated engines," and cited the 155-horsepower Mazda CX-5 as an example to illustrate that "below 160 horsepower" is becoming one of the power ranges that is easier to digest by parallel import channels.

However, in the high-end and mid-to-high-end markets, price elasticity may not be equally obvious. Nikolai Ivanov, head of new car sales at ROlF Group, told AUTOSTAT that in the mid-to-high-end and luxury segments,"consumers will still buy the car they already want to buy." For example, he said that even if the BMW X3 price rises by 700,000 rubles due to cost changes, the target customers may still buy it.

[Brief Comment] Russia's recycling charges have turned power parameters into de facto "structural regulators." Near 160 horsepower is becoming a sensitive line for channel selection and pricing: one end is high-power/high-premium vehicle sources represented by Monjaro, Ideal, Krypton, etc., and the other end is easier to control costs and more suitable for tax rules. The mid-power version. If we still rely heavily on parallel import channels, we must pay more attention to power versions and tax calculations in product planning.

Source:https://eng.autostat.ru/news/27280/

Source:Guangdong Good Car

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