Dealers are reportedly shutting down or rebranding numerous outlets due to over-expansion and tepid demand
Following a period of swift growth, Chinese automotive brands have significantly cut back their showroom presence in Russia, with Kommersant reporting that hundreds of locations have been closed or rebranded because of sluggish sales and increased expenses.
Citing estimates from Gazprombank Autoleasing and the industry publication AvtoBusinessReview, the newspaper stated that 643 showrooms for Chinese passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were shuttered in Russia during 2025. This number is 1.4 times greater than the figure for 2024. In that same timeframe, 459 new dealerships commenced operations, which is three times fewer than the prior year.
Consequently, the overall count of Chinese-brand sales points in Russia declined by 7% last year to approximately 2,600, and their proportion of the total car showroom market decreased from 67% to 64%, according to Kommersant.
Aleksandr Kornev, an executive at Gazprombank Autoleasing, informed the paper that approximately a quarter of all outlets selling Chinese cars in 2025 were either closed or switched to a different brand. He noted that over 100 retailers opted to partner with emerging Russian brands that utilize locally assembled Chinese vehicles instead.
The Russian Auto Dealers Association characterized the closure trend as a market adjustment following a period of “too fast” growth. The association remarked that many Chinese brands had “entered the market actively, opening a large number of showrooms, sometimes without understanding real demand and the economics of the dealer business.”
In recent years, Chinese and domestic Russian brands have led the market, stepping into the void created by the departure of Western and Japanese carmakers, which left due to sanctions and geopolitical strife.
The total number of showrooms for all automobile brands in Russia dropped by 85 in 2025, settling at around 4,070.
Kornev explained that poor sales volumes combined with elevated costs for borrowing, rent, logistics, and personnel kept dealers from achieving their original targets and restrained further network growth. Other industry sources indicated that only three Chinese brands running monobrand dealerships—Haval City, Chery, and Geely—were moving sufficient vehicles per location to remain solidly profitable.
Specialists cited by Kommersant anticipate the rate of closures will decelerate, but they suggest the practice of rebranding Chinese showrooms under new Russian names is expected to persist.