9621 Agnes Crossing, Lake Suzanneview, New Mexico Island 84604-9295.
The statistics are, frankly, sometimes surprising. They have one strange quality: presenting obvious facts as an incredible discovery and naively waiting for applause in response. Recently, information was
According to a survey conducted by Fresh Auto, involving 3,500 people, Russian car owners have radically changed their attitude towards Chinese cars. In 2023, 43% of the survey participants are willing to buy themselves or their loved ones a car designed and produced in the Middle Kingdom. But even at the beginning of 2022, no more than 10% of the driver population of originals was ready to switch to the “Chinese”. At the same time, only 24% of survey participants continue to treat the products of the Chinese auto industry with suspicion.
Such a change in the mindset of the driver is noticeable only at first glance. First of all, in the past year everyone has realized that the boycott of our country by Western manufacturers and the Japanese is not fun for a month or two. It will last long enough. You can sit right on the priest and dream that a brand new BMW will fall into your hands from heaven (because there is nowhere else to go), but this is a thankless task. Those who do not want to follow the car to the flea market are forced to eat what they give.
And here it turns out that the market does not hide the trends that statisticians laboriously reveal. In February 2022, sales of Chinese cars accounted for 9% of the total number of cars sold in Russia. Please note – sale, not production or import. That is, people actually voted with their wallets. And in February 2023, their numbers rose to 38%. Returning to the stats above, we can easily see an almost exact match in numbers: 38 – 43, 9 – 10.
Of course, it would not be entirely correct to attribute everything to hopelessness alone. The Chinese auto industry has evolved astonishingly – which is not surprising, by the way. Let’s not forget how in the late 90s everyone giggled at the creations of Korean companies – at all those old freaks Daewoo Nexia, Daewoo Espero, SsangYong Musso. But about 15 years have passed, and the “Koreans” in terms of beauty, quality, equipment and price in general surpass the “Japanese” in the belt.
Is it any wonder that Chinese cars have also managed to go from incredible sprinters to very decent modern cars, many of which are already comparable to the best Western models? In the first half of the 2010s, I happened to test crossovers from China. It was something unimaginable – the brakes did not slow down, the steering wheel did not really steer, the gears shifted like on a tractor, the seat simply rejected the driver’s butt, and the dashboard burned out the eyes with a poisonous blue color.
Having had such an experience and having been a passionate admirer of Bavarian cars in my life, I would never again climb into the “Chinese” of my own free will. However, the need will teach Kalachi to eat. Reluctantly, I had to take a Geely Atlas Pro to vacation in the south. And what? The car turned out to be excellent – no worse than Volvo, whose technological solutions were carefully and skillfully transferred to it. I will say more – in the “Atlas” I drove much more pleasantly, because I was not dominated by the obtrusive desire of the Swedish brand to suggest that it is a real “premium”. The Chinese are (still) far from such boasters. And I don’t rule out buying a Chinese car myself any time soon, despite all my past obsession with Germany.
But what is really worth being surprised is our domestic auto industry. Koreans have learned how to make cars. The Chinese have learned how to make cars. And only we persist in our backwardness: as we produced buckets of nuts, so we still pound them. There are no objective justifications for such disgrace and there cannot be.
According to a survey conducted by Fresh Auto involving 3,500 people, Russian car owners have radically changed their attitude towards Chinese cars. In 2023, 43% of the survey participants are willing to buy themselves or their loved ones a car designed and produced in the Middle Kingdom. But even at the beginning of 2022, no more than 10% of the driver population of originals was ready to switch to the “Chinese”. At the same time, only 24% of survey participants continue to treat the products of the Chinese auto industry with suspicion.
Such a change in the mindset of the driver is noticeable only at first glance. First of all, in the past year everyone has realized that the boycott of our country by Western manufacturers and the Japanese is not fun for a month or two. It will last long enough. You can sit right on the priest and dream that a brand new BMW will fall into your hands from heaven (because there is nowhere else to go), but this is a thankless task. Those who do not want to follow the car to the flea market are forced to eat what they give.
And here it turns out that the market does not hide the trends that statisticians laboriously reveal. In February 2022, sales of Chinese cars accounted for 9% of the total number of cars sold in Russia. Please note – sale, not production or import. That is, people actually voted with their wallets. And in February 2023, their numbers rose to 38%. Returning to the stats above, we can easily see an almost exact match in numbers: 38 – 43, 9 – 10.
Of course, it would not be entirely correct to attribute everything to hopelessness alone. The Chinese auto industry has evolved astonishingly – which is not surprising, by the way. Let’s not forget how in the late 90s everyone giggled at the creations of Korean companies – at all those old freaks Daewoo Nexia, Daewoo Espero, SsangYong Musso. But about 15 years have passed, and the “Koreans” in terms of beauty, quality, equipment and price in general surpass the “Japanese” in the belt.
Is it any wonder that Chinese cars have also managed to go from incredible sprinters to very decent modern cars, many of which are already comparable to the best Western models? In the first half of the 2010s, I happened to test crossovers from China. It was something unimaginable – the brakes did not slow down, the steering wheel did not really steer, the gears shifted like on a tractor, the seat simply rejected the driver’s butt, and the dashboard burned out the eyes with a poisonous blue color.
Having had such an experience and having been a passionate admirer of Bavarian cars in my life, I would never again climb into the “Chinese” of my own free will. However, the need will teach Kalachi to eat. Reluctantly, I had to take a Geely Atlas Pro to vacation in the South. And what? The car turned out to be excellent – no worse than Volvo, whose technological solutions were carefully and skillfully transferred to it. I will say more – in the “Atlas” I drove much more pleasantly, because I was not dominated by the obtrusive desire of the Swedish brand to suggest that it is a real “premium”. The Chinese are (still) far from such boasters. And I don’t rule out buying a Chinese car myself any time soon, despite all my past obsession with Germany.
But what is really worth being surprised is our domestic auto industry. Koreans have learned how to make cars. The Chinese have learned how to make cars. And only we persist in our backwardness: as we produced buckets of nuts, so we still pound them. There are no objective justifications for such disgrace and there cannot be.
Source: Avto Vzglyad
Donald Salinas is an experienced automobile journalist and writer for Div Bracket. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of automobiles, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the latest trends and innovations in the automotive industry.
