Residents of Tatarstan prefer HAVAL, but against the backdrop of rising prices and expensive loans, they are buying Lada
Car owners in Tatarstan are switching to Chinese vehicles, and dealers are taking this into account. According to Avto.ru, SUVs from China priced between 3 and 5 million rubles are in demand in the republic, and by early September, the share of this segment in the market exceeded 47%. On average, the cost of any new foreign car exceeds 3.5 million rubles. According to NAPI, Tatarstan’s share of total new passenger car sales in Russia in 2025 was 4.6% — 0.2 percentage points lower than in 2024. Realnoe Vremya looked into the preferences of car enthusiasts in Tatarstan, the prices of new foreign cars, and the characteristics of the republican car market.
Over eight months of the year, 760,700 new passenger cars were sold in Russia, 22.4% fewer than a year earlier. In Tatarstan, 35,000 passenger cars were sold over the same period, a drop of 26.5%. This statistic was provided to Realnoe Vremya by the National Agency for Industrial Information (NAPI).
Tatarstan’s share of total new passenger car sales in the country in 2025 stands at 4.6%, 0.2 percentage points lower than last year.
The speaker noted that against the backdrop of an overall decline, sales of BELGEE (+57.1% in Tatarstan), JETOUR (+11.3%), SOLARIS (+260%) and TOYOTA (+53.5%) have increased. JETOUR cars entered the Russian market in the summer of 2023, BELGEE in the autumn of 2023, and SOLARIS in the summer of 2024. In addition, the growth in TOYOTA sales is notable given that the brand is supplied to the country only through alternative import channels.
In 2025, nine out of ten positions in the ranking of new passenger car model sales in Russia and Tatarstan coincide. The top three are LADA GRANTA (6,300 units in Tatarstan), LADA VESTA (2,800 units) and HAVAL JOLION (1,800 units). In the republic, the LADA LARGUS model showed a sales increase of 893.8%, its share rising from 0.2% to 2.8%, according to NAPI data.
“From January to August 2024, the top 10 best-selling brands in Tatarstan included EXEED, HYUNDAI and MOSKVICH, which this year were displaced by SOLARIS, BELGEE and TOYOTA. Similarly, the GEELY MONJARO, HAVAL M6 and OMODA C5 models gave way in the top rankings to LADA LARGUS, CHANGAN UNI-S and BELGEE X50,” added Tatyana Arabadji. “Speaking of new passenger car sales for the month from July to August 2025, positive dynamics can be noted: +1.4% in Russia (up to 120,700 units) and +3.2% in Tatarstan (up to 5,800 units).”
Experts at Avto.ru also noted at the beginning of autumn 2025 the first signs of a recovery in the new car market. In their view, this is indicated by a developing trend of a reduction in the size and number of discounts from official dealers.
The expert believes that the next two months could be the most advantageous time to purchase a new car.
However, this is more relevant for neighbouring regions: the lowest median discounts were recorded in Bashkortostan, up to a quarter of new cars were offered without any discount in the Samara region, while in Tatarstan in the third quarter of 2025 the median discount (including bonuses for credit arrangements, insurance and trade-in) remained at the level of the second quarter — 20%. At the same time, the maximum discount even increased: in the second quarter it reached 45%, and by mid-September it had risen to 58%.
The highest median discount was noted for the Jetour and Omoda brands — 28%, while the most discounts are offered by Geely and Belgee — more than 96% of offers include a discount. For Haval, 82% of offers include one.
According to Avto.ru, the top five most popular models in Tatarstan include the JAECOO J7 (average price — 3.448 million rubles), JETOUR T2 (4.225 million), CHERY Arrizo 8 (3.144 million), JAECOO J8 (4.838 million) and GEELY Atlas (3.807 million).
Realnoe Vremya, having analysed data on classified ad websites and official dealer portals, compiled its own ranking of foreign cars by price (the minimum price is indicated for cars with a fixed configuration, without additional equipment, at dealerships in the republic at the time of sample collection). From this perspective, the most affordable were Chinese SUVs CHERY Tiggo, HAVAL M6 and HAVAL Jolion with a manual transmission and a 1.5-litre engine, although even their price is three times higher than that of the cheapest domestic car — the VAZ (LADA) Granta.
At the same time, Chinese automakers offer the widest range of brands and models in Tatarstan today — from the most basic to premium-class vehicles. Favoured by many residents of the republic for their optimal combination of price and performance, “Korean” cars, and for their reliability, “Japanese” cars, have begun returning to the Russian market.
However, their selection is still modest, which cannot be said of the prices: offers for the most affordable models in “bare” basic configuration start from 2.7–3.9 million rubles.
As for the prestigious German cars, the most affordable, if it can be called that, remains the Volkswagen Tiguan with a 2-litre engine and automatic transmission, priced at 5 million rubles.
Today, he says, Russians are developing new preferences, a new taste, and a new attitude towards Chinese cars: “At present, it offers a very diverse selection — for every taste and budget. And competition is emerging, which is also a good thing.”
Mozhenkov noted that those who could afford and preferred Mercedes, BMW or Porsche either buy them through parallel imports or switch to Chinese LIXIANG or ZEEKR models, which, in his view, are not inferior and, in some respects, may even surpass global premium brands.
“The Chinese made the right choice: knowing our winters and roads, they mainly came to us with crossovers and SUVs,” he emphasised. The growth in car sales in the 2000s was linked to accessible car loans. If affordable car loans had not existed in the 2000s, we too would have languished in a meagre existence. Today, thanks to Elvira Nabiullina, the Central Bank rate is prohibitive, and as a result, car loans practically do not exist.
Vladimir Mozhenkov assessed the prospects for renewing the ageing private car fleet in Tatarstan and across Russia as low:
“If the Central Bank does not lower the rate to at least 13–14 percent, and car loans do not become cheaper by 5–7 points, demand for cars will not grow. At present, a Russian citizen can hardly make use of a car loan: it is very expensive, and their wealth is not increasing. No civilized country has such interest rates on car loans. And if a person currently owns a car but has no money, and their wealth is not growing, they will continue to drive it until it is completely worn out. That is the trend.”
Pavel Kuznetsov, director of the Kazan company Your Autoexpert, agrees with Vladimir Mozhenkov. He noted that today in the republic, premium cars priced at 7 million rubles and above “are being bought just as they were before,” although some European brands have been replaced by Chinese premium brands — LIXIANG, VOYAH, and ZEEKR.
“As for pricing in the 3–4 million range, people are massively switching to Chinese brands,” he says. “Among them, GEELY and HAVAL are the most in demand. And the minimum cost of a new high-quality Chinese car today is three million rubles.”
Kuznetsov expressed the view that, with high probability, a decline in the car market should be expected. He cited two reasons — oversupply and a high likelihood of a rapid and sharp increase in the recycling fee, which will inevitably lead to higher prices for cars produced outside Russia. In his opinion, the situation can only be changed by a shift in the Central Bank’s policy — towards cheaper loans.
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