Iskra Devours Vesta, "Chinese" Eat Each Other. Results of 2025 Sales in Russia

The Russian new car market in 2025 showed a complex picture: AvtoVAZ lost customers in the mass segment, while Chinese brands began to show significant internal competition. In the late second to early third quarter, it became clear that, given equal prices, Vesta was inferior to competitors from China both in terms of quality and support programs.

At the end of the year, AvtoVAZ lost a quarter of its audience — 25% of buyers — with an overall market decline of 15%. The brand's share was 24% against 28% in 2024. Special attention should be paid to the fourth quarter: October showed a record 165 thousand sales, but Lada retained only 20% of the volume. In November and December, the brand's share increased to 21.5% and 23%, respectively, which is associated with the release of the Iskra model and pre-New Year demand.

The appearance of Iskra raised the issue of internal competition: the new cars partially "ate away" customers from Vesta. In November, 1380 Iskra were registered, in December — 3203 units. In the same months, Vesta with 1.6-liter engines sold 2967 and 3126 units. The share of Vesta with 1.6-liter engines was falling: from January to September it was almost 15%, in November — 10.8%, in December — less than 10%.

Launching Iskra on a platform that does not intersect with Vesta limits the possibilities of unification. The issue of expanding the Iskra line with a 1.8-liter engine with 122 "horses" may increase pressure on Vesta, while abandoning the model is impossible — it shares a platform with Azimut and helps the financial stability of the plant. Additional burden on managers is also due to underloaded sites in St. Petersburg and Izhevsk.

The Chinese brand market also turned out to be heterogeneous. Leaders Haval, Chery, Geely lost 10–15% of buyers, while Changan fell by 38%. Omoda and Exeed faced delays in Russian assembly: C5 and C7 found a limited number of buyers, and the assembly of Exeed in the Moscow region in 2025 was completed with difficulty, which led to low sales of RX at the end of the year.

Jetour showed a positive result: sales of the brand in 2025 increased, although the fourth quarter was weaker than the previous one. Small Chinese brands, such as JAC and Great Wall, lost more than 30–50% of buyers, and Kaiyi and Baic showed modest results of local assembly. SWM increased sales almost threefold, but only due to the sale of old stocks. Livan actually did not supply new cars, and Soueast, after dynamic growth in the first three quarters, finished the fourth quarter with a fall.

Imported brands showed multidirectional dynamics. Hongqi increased sales by 40% after price reductions, while Kia, BMW and Mercedes-Benz showed a decline or moderate growth. KGM (SsangYong) and other markets faced high prices and the need for discounts to revive demand.

The picture is completed by "Moskvich", which, after restructuring the business, lost a third of its customers and finished the year in 17th place in sales. New models M70 and M90 are promoted through a separate website, and sales of "screwdriver" crossovers were minimal. Previously, market leaders — Toyota, BMW and Mercedes-Benz — experienced the last year with high demand, but the prospects for 2026 are vague due to changes in the recycling fee and import restrictions.

In general, the market showed sharp changes in the structure of demand: the domestic auto industry shrank, Chinese brands strengthened internal competition and began to actively develop Russian assembly, and importers limited themselves to selling off warehouse stocks and local discounts. Against the background of these processes, 2026 promises to be even more difficult for all market participants.

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