Russia's new car imports doubled in May: China accounted for 73%, and the source pattern of used cars is also changing

In May 2026, Russia imported a total of 69,500 passenger cars. Among them, new car imports reached 34,400 units, a year-on-year increase of nearly double; used car imports reached 35,100 units, a year-on-year decrease of 5%...

According to the Russian automotive data agency "Ав т о с т а т (Autostat)" disclosed at the latest online conference of "А в т о с т а т опера тивка", a total of 69,500 passenger cars were imported in May 2026. Among them, theimport of new cars reached 34,400 units, a year-on-year increase of nearly double;the import of used cars reached 35,100 units, a year-on-year decrease of 5%.

Analysts believe that new structural changes are taking place in the Russian car import market: new car imports continueto be concentrated in China, and althoughJapan still dominates theused car sector, the presence of China's car sources continues to increase.

New car imports have doubled year-on-year, and China continues to dominate

Data shows that Russia imported 34,400 new passenger cars in May 2026, compared with only 17,800 in the same period last year. Sergey Udalov, executive director of Autostat, said this was one of the highest monthly imports of new cars in Russia this year.

The industry believes that this increase is partly due toa low base in the same period last year. At that time, Russia's new car imports dropped significantly, so this year's year-on-year growth was particularly prominent.

In terms of brands and models, Geely continues to be the most popular brand among new imported cars from Russia, whileGeely Monjaro (Star L Overseas Edition) is the model with the highest sales of new imported cars.

In terms of origin, China still firmly occupies the first place. In May, China accountedfor 72.9% of Russia's totalnew car imports, Kyrgyzstan accounted for 17.4%, and Belarus accounted for 3.2%.

This means that the new car supply system in the Russian market is still highly dependent on China and surrounding transshipment channels.

Japan still dominates used cars, but China's share continues to rise

Different from the new car market, the core source of imported used cars from Russia is still Japan.

The source structure of used car imports in May was:Japan: 55%, China: 26.5% , and South Korea: 8.5%. In terms of brands, Toyota remains the most popular imported used car brand, and Toyota Corolla continues to maintain its position as the best-selling imported used car model.

However, Autostat also pointed out that the proportion of vehicles originating in Japan is gradually declining, while the proportion of vehicles originating in China continues to increase. This trend has been repeated in import data over the past year or so.

For China used car export practitioners, this point is particularly noteworthy. At present, used cars imported from China in the Russian market are not limited to China brands, but also include a large number of Toyota, Volkswagen, Audi, Honda and other models circulating in the China market. As Russian buyers become more familiar with the sources of China's cars, China is gradually growing from a "supplementary channel" to one of the important suppliers of used cars in Russia.

The import structure is reshaping

Judging from the overall data, Russia's automobile imports have formed a relatively clear pattern: new car imports are highly dependent on China; used car imports are still dominated by Japan; and China's share in the used car sector is steadily expanding.

Udalov believes that Japan's share of Russia's used car imports may continue to decline for some time to come, and the importance of China's car sources will further increase.

written in the end

Russia's May import data once again shows that China has become one of the most important sources of supply for the Russian automobile market. Although Japan still has an advantage in the second-hand car sector, China's car sources are growing faster and covering a wider range of brands. For China's used car exporters, future opportunities in the Russian market lie not only in China brand models, but also in international brand models that Russian consumers are familiar with and can stably obtain through China channels. As China's advantages in supply chain, logistics and vehicle sources continue to expand, Russia's used car import pattern may still continue to be rewritten.

Source: Guangdong Good Car

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