Strategic Update: Russian Auto Market Trasitions and Global Brands 2022-2023

By the end of 2022, among the 60 automotive brands once active in Russia, only 14 remained fully operational while 46 halted operations in some form. This snapshot comes from the Russian Association of Automobile Dealers, known as ROAD.

Among the brands that kept running, three are Russian manufacturers—Lada, GAZ, and UAZ. The rest come from abroad, with many representing Chinese automotive brands. Notably, the Haval brand operates a local factory in the Tula region. Geely sources its vehicles from a Belarus plant, while Chery imports directly from China.

Beyond the flagship Chery brand, the company introduced the Exeed line to the Russian market in 2022 and also rolled out a new Omoda brand. Other brands continuing to operate in Russia include JAC, FAW, Dongfeng, Exeed, GAC, and Foton.

Renault and Nissan

General Motors became the first major foreign automaker to leave Russia entirely. Reports in April indicated the company halted the supply of machinery and spare parts to its Russian offices and dealers.

In April, socialbites.ca noted that the Renault-Nissan alliance was preparing to transfer assets to Russian state entities. As a result, more than 67% of the shares of the Russian auto group moved to the NAMI scientific institute, with the Moscow city government taking ownership of the Renault plant in Russia.

At those facilities, Moskvich 3 crossovers began to be assembled from JAC kit parts in early November. A spare parts warehouse with warranty support for existing Renault cars was handed to AvtoVAZ. In line with the same plan, Nissan assets were moved to state ownership in October, with St. Petersburg becoming the property of NAMI.

Nissan estimated the financial hit from exiting Russia at about 686 million dollars.

Mazda, Toyota, BMW and Mercedes-Benz

Toyota announced the cessation of automobile production in Russia in September and confirmed the closure of its St. Petersburg plant, with layoffs continuing into year-end. Although Toyota did not disclose the long-term fate of the plant, the Shushary facility drew heightened attention in late November as authorities conducted a surprise inspection.

German Mercedes-Benz announced its withdrawal from the Russian market at the end of October and signaled a potential asset sale to the Avtodom group, with production and exports halted at the Solnechnogorsk plant in the spring. Following regulatory approval, the factory, its dealerships, a bank, and related Russian division finances were expected to become Avtodom property.

Mazda, a Japanese brand, announced in November that it handed over its Vladivostok assembly plant to Sollers for one euro and paused production. Mazda reported losses of about 82 million dollars from exiting the market. In March, BMW announced a break with its long-standing partner Avtotor in Kaliningrad, stepping back from car assembly in Russia and halting model exports.

they sit quietly

There are still major brands with their own factories that have not declared an exit from Russia or asset sales. Hyundai, the Korean maker behind the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis lines, remains in operation and reported a factory in St. Petersburg with a temporary production halt through December. The Hyundai representation declined to comment on the factory’s status or the Russian office.

British Jaguar Land Rover and American Jeep are blocked from importing new cars into Russia due to sanctions. Sanctions from the UK and US prohibit vehicle imports, yet official offices for these brands have not been shuttered. A few months into the sanctions, Subaru continued operations in Russia, selling remaining inventory and maintaining service and warranty support as of August.

Volkswagen and Peugeot-Citroen

Volkswagen reduced activity at its Nizhny Novgorod plant and laid off workers there, while the fate of the Kaluga plant remained unresolved. The group has been pursuing an investor to potentially take over the business, a point reported by German press in the autumn.

PSMA Russian, which assembles Peugeot and Citroën models in the Kaluga region along with Mitsubishi crossovers, was placed in idle mode in late March. The future of this facility and the Stellantis brands in Russia remained unclear, with no formal comment on current operations. Mitsubishi has not signaled a complete withdrawal and even offered customers new loan products through its subsidiary bank, while Suzuki continued selling its remaining inventory with ongoing service support.

Where is the market headed?

Independent automotive consultant Sergey Burgazliev observes that the current market offers Russian brands alongside budget Chinese models. He suggests this dynamic will persist for several years, noting that consumers face a more fragile market compared to the past. The shift resembles the 1990s, with buyers paying more for imports, but with limited warranty coverage and increased risks in service and parts supply.

He warns that cars arriving via parallel imports may suffer from spare parts shortages, particularly body components, and warns that maintenance costs could rise. He also points out that expensive logistics keep parallel imports from being cheaper than officially supplied vehicles, with spare parts prices jumping 50–60% in 2022 and longer delivery times.

What could happen next

One notable forecast for the new year is the possible full operation of the Moskvich, Avtotor, and Nissan plants, including assembling similar models from Chinese kits into Lada-branded crossovers like Qashqai and X-Trail. Analysts highlight a real shortage in the mid-price segment within the Russian market, with parallel imports unlikely to fill the gap entirely.

Current choices are limited to very affordable Lada cars under a million rubles, or Chinese models around two million rubles, with a dwindling stock of previously produced vehicles priced similarly. The market shows no precedent for such a situation in prior crises, according to industry observer Morzharetto. He notes that parallel imports may account for roughly 10–15% of next year’s market but will not dominate due to higher logistics costs and demand concentrated in budget and mid-range segments.

In this outlook, product variety for the middle class remains scarce, buyers pause large purchases, and the share of parallel imports is unlikely to be decisive despite the potential volume. The landscape continues to shift as manufacturers adapt to sanctions, supply chains, and evolving consumer preferences in the region.