Sales of Chinese vehicles in Russia grew 150% in 2007

Shanghai, March 28 (Gasgoo.com)  In 2007, over 50,000 Chinese vehicles were sold in the Russian market, up 150 percent over the previous year. Chery Auto is the best seller among all the Chinese brands, the Xinhua news agency said, citing a Russian newspaper on Wednesday.

In 2007, sales of Chinese vehicles grow fast in Russia thanks to the increase in their local production capacity, said industry analyst Mr. Romanov. "They may nudge all the conventional car models of AutoVAZ out of the market after they've captured the low-end market," he predicts, adding that Chinese automakers will gain more market shares. AutoVAZ is Russia's leading domestic automaker.

Chery sold approximately 37,000 vehicles last year, an increase of 245 percent year on year. The home-grown automaker began selling cars in Russia in June 2006, and now Russia has been its largest overseas market, accounting for about 30 percent of its total overseas sales last year.

Recent foreign reports said that Chery is planning to buy an existing manufacturing plant in Russia by spending RMB 3 billion ($422.32 million), but the plan has not been officially confirmed.

Another Chinese automaker, Chongqing Lifan Group is also planning its production expansion in Russia. The automaker started its local assembly line in the Karachay-Cherkessia last summer and aims to raise its annual productivity to 50,000 units from the current level of 5,000 units.