Alternative imports accounted for more than half of new car shipments to Russia.

In the first nine months of 2026, 301 thousand new passenger cars were imported to Russia, with alternative supply channels accounting for 153.5 thousand cars, or 51% of the total volume. Sergey Tselikov, director of the Autostat analytical agency, announced this in his Telegram channel on October 16.

Compared to the same period last year, this figure increased by 75%, while imports through official distributors decreased by 3.4%, to 147.5 thousand vehicles. In September, the share of alternative imports reached a maximum of 66%.

According to the expert, the main decline in imports of new cars occurred in 2025, when shipments decreased by 57% — from 925,000 to 396,000 cars. Tselikov cited the accumulation of stocks, falling sales and increased local production with the replacement of foreign brands as the reasons for the decline.

In 2026, the influence of the first two factors weakened, but the development of local assembly continued to restrain direct supplies, and the growth of alternative imports accelerated.

Official distributors continue to import Geely, Changan, GAC, Tank, Hongqi and other vehicles from China. Toyota, Mazda, Volkswagen, BMW, Audi and other global brands are in demand through alternative channels. They are supplied, in particular, from China, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea and other countries.

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In January-September 2026, 967.8 thousand new passenger cars were sold in Russia, which is 8% more than in the same period last year. At the same time, only 15 models out of more than 800 available on the market accounted for half of the sales.