The Korean company for the production of cars Kia does not exclude that it will stop sales of its cars in Russia due to the situation of "uncertainty". This statement was made by the executive vice president of the company Wu-Chun Chu.
If this happens, the automaker will leave only maintenance in the country.
“Perhaps we will consider the option to do only after-sales service due to the inability to deliver cars there in principle,” said the vice president.
According to the Association of European Businesses, Kia ranks second in popularity among all auto brands in Russia, second only to AvtoVAZ. From January to September 2022, more than 56,000 new KIA vehicles were sold in Russia (more than 11% of the market).
After the start of the war in Ukraine, the Russian car market was left with virtually no new deliveries of foreign brands of cars, and also faced a new wave of declining demand against the backdrop of military mobilization. Against this background, Lada managed to capture almost half of the Russian market, read more about it here .
In the summer, it was reported that Chinese companies had taken over the Russian truck market: China remained almost the only supplier of vehicles against the backdrop of collapsed imports. For example, the Chinese Great Wall is preparing to introduce the Tank brand to the Russian market, which acts as a competitor to the Toyota Land Cruiser.
Nevertheless, Chinese automakers are not ready to fully replace the European, American and Japanese companies that left Russia. In general, car imports from China to Russia continue to fall, while the supply of auto parts remains at relatively low levels.