How much do the cheapest Haval, Chery and Geely really cost

China’s Big Three – the Haval, Chery and Geely brands – are actively increasing their presence in the domestic market. More and more Russians are switching to their car, but why? Because of low prices, “thick” specials and other “rugs as gifts”? Prices are generally not that low anymore and there will soon be no more promotions. What is happening now in the showrooms of the most popular car brands from China and what to expect next, the AvtoVzglyad portal found out.

If last year was the most unlucky year in history for the Russian new car market as a whole (down 58.8%), China’s Big Three in particular didn’t end badly overall. Haval missed only 14% of sales, Geely – 1%. And Chery even managed to grow, albeit slightly, but still – by 4%. And this despite the fact that the “heavenly” cars have long ceased to be available.

Yes, a few years ago, when Chinese manufacturers were just starting to fight for their place in the sun, the hearts and wallets of Russian consumers, their prices were really pleasing to the eye. Now everything is different. It is extremely difficult to find cars at the prices published on official dealer websites. And in some models there is an acute shortage.

However, let’s discuss each brand in order.

CHERY

According to legend, we were looking for the most affordable car. Therefore, the consultant who met us on the doorstep of the Chery dealership was first asked about the Tiggo 4 Pro crossover. Yes, this is not the cheapest model, because the line still has the usual “four”. But since, in fact, it is the progenitor of the “Proshka” – a machine that has lost its attractiveness and any relevance – we immediately abandoned it.

So Tiggo 4 Pro. The manager looked at the monitor, clicked the mouse and announced, “There are no cars in stock – I can only offer a choice of two cars that are in the showroom.” And this is at least 2,263,000 rubles if the crossover is bought on credit, or 2,313,000 rubles if for cash. And where is the base equipment promised by the Chery website for 2,049,900? Probably “in deliveries”. Precisely those who are not expected in the near future.

Among other things, the adviser warned that those who want to take over Chery will soon face a number of difficulties. First, stock lots have already been reduced from 50 to 40 cars per dealer (at least for Major) – they say a shortage is not far off. Secondly, since the brand is doing well, the Chinese plan to phase out specials. But is this true or is a typical dealer “scarecrow” a big question.

YELLOW

We do not know whether the shortage of cars really threatens Chery dealers, but Geely car dealers have already encountered this problem, which the AvtoVzglyad portal was personally convinced by looking at the opening or closing of the brand’s auto center on Novorizhskoye Highway. Anyway, the showroom is completely empty. “We’re a small dealer – we only get four cars a month,” the consultant explained sadly.

According to him, the most affordable model – the Coolray crossover – can be ordered in any configuration and at the prices indicated on the brand’s official website. Another question is that the car has to wait about three months. And all because the brand’s dealer network is growing rapidly: if a few years ago it consisted of 90 points, today it already has 148. There are simply not enough cars.

Since the “small dealer” story didn’t tell the whole story, we called the larger dealer to find out how bad the Coolray shortage really was. An arbitrary choice fell on “Major Dmitrovka”: it turned out that cars were available there. The cheapest – a crossover in the middle version of Flagship – is ready to go on sale at the suggested retail price, that is, for 2,659,990 rubles. In addition, they promised to throw away 385,000 “wooden” for the year 2022 and 185,000 for an installment purchase.

HAVAL

But above all we were surprised by the Haval dealer. According to the price list, the minimum price of the Jolion crossover is 1,899,000 rubles. Such cars, of course, were not in stock: the most affordable option turned out to be a car in the average Elite configuration for 2,390,000 rubles (of course, with a surcharge for “dopas”). But the seller assured us that we could pick it up for 1,850,000 if we agreed to fraud (we talked about this in detail).

As for the F7 family, those popular crossovers are also not sold for the suggested retail price. Let’s say the dealer asked 2,571,000 or 2,429,000 rubles for a coupe-shaped F7x – the final price depended on whether we used the trade-in program or not. If you need a cheaper – that is, a simpler package – then only on order. And ordering means waiting at least a month.

In general, the employees of the Haval dealer – those who are, in fact, the face of the brand for customers – again get in the mud with this face and show maximum incompetence. For example, we learned from our consultant that the H2 crossover (the predecessor of Jolyon) has been produced in the Tula region since 2014 (despite the fact that the plant was opened only in 2019) … Well, what else can more I say?

Photo: AvtoVzglyad
Photo: AvtoVzglyad

Photo: AvtoVzglyad
Photo: AvtoVzglyad

Photo: AvtoVzglyad
Photo: AvtoVzglyad

However, let’s discuss each brand in order.