AvtoVAZ car sales in Russia drop amid Chinese competition
For AvtoVAZ, Russia’s main car manufacturer, 2025 “was sluggish in terms of sales,” according to Russian media citing CEO Maxim Sokolov.
The company estimates that 370,000 cars were sold in 2025, including exports, “a quarter less than in 2024.” Even in October, when the Russian government announced new protectionist tariffs on scrap collection, AvtoVAZ saw no sales surge. Protests led to the tariffs being postponed twice for a month, during which car imports increased as Russians rushed to buy foreign cars at old prices.
In the first ten months of 2025, Lada’s share of the Russian market “shrunk from a quarter to a fifth — 20%.” The market is increasingly dominated by Chinese automakers, which are opening local assembly (“screwdriver production”) in Russia. This creates jobs and familiarizes Russian specialists with Chinese technologies, a trend supported by some Russian authorities.
Elsewhere, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said EU sanctions are increasing economic pressure on Russia and reaffirmed continued support for Ukraine.
Indian company Reliance Industries announced it will completely stop importing Russian oil from 20 November, in line with international sanctions.
Earlier, the US Treasury Department said sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil are already reducing Russia’s oil revenues and may lead to a long-term decline in Russian oil sales. Exxon Mobil is reportedly considering acquiring part of Lukoil’s foreign assets, which are subject to sanctions.
