Due to Ukraine’s invasion, hundreds of major international businesses have left Russia during the past year. As a result, Russians are now compelled to find alternatives for everything from smartphones to automobiles.
Chinese competitors are the companies that gain. Industry statistics reveal a rise in sales for the automaker Geely and the largest manufacturer of smartphones, Xiaomi.
According to Counterpoint Research, models from Xiaomi and another Chinese supplier, Realme, are currently dominating the sales charts where iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones earlier topped the list.
Prior to the war, Chinese manufacturers were well-liked in Russia and, as of December 2021, they controlled about 40% of the smartphone market. According to Counterpoint data, they now control nearly all of the market and account for 95% of it one year later.
On Russian streets, a similar tale is currently being told. Chinese automakers Chery and Great Wall Motor entered the top 10 passenger car brands last year, surpassing German automakers BMW and Mercedes (MBGAF), according to statistics from S&P Global Mobility.
According to statistics provider Autostat, Russians purchased a record amount of Chinese automobiles in 2017. According to a research released last month, despite the market’s collapse, Chinese new car sales in the nation increased by 7% to 121,800 vehicles in 2022.
According to S&P data, Lada, the homegrown brand that was the most well-known automaker in Russia even before the conflict, had its market share increase from roughly 22% to 28% in 2022. (In May, Renault sold the majority of its shares in Lada.)
These businesses are essentially the only ones left.
After invading Ukraine, international automakers, including Hyundai and Kia, two more significant foreign competitors, left Russia, joining Renault.
According to Tu Le, the founder of Beijing-based consultancy company Sino Auto Insights, “it created a significant gap in the market.” And the Chinese are delighted to plug this gap.
According to Jan Stryjak, deputy director of Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi, Realme, and Honor, the cheap brand that was formerly owned by Chinese tech giant Huawei, “reacted rapidly to capture the chance.” In the third quarter of 2022, they increased shipments to Russia by 39%, 190%, and 24% in comparison to the second quarter, respectively.
The main winner was Xiaomi, which saw its market share double over the course of the year. Thanks in large part to its renowned Redmi series of inexpensive smartphones with excellent cameras, the Beijing-based business is currently the top smartphone seller in Russia.
In March 2022, shoppers pass by a shuttered Apple store in a mall in Omsk, Russia.
