Russians left without parts for Chinese cars

In Russia, owners of Chinese cars face a shortage of repair parts and are forced to wait 3 to 5 months for their delivery to the country, representatives of the automotive industry told the Russian publication Izvestia.

The shortage primarily affects brands that have been recently sold in Russia: Changan, Li, Zeekr, FAW, and BYD. The situation is slightly better for Chery, Geely, and Haval. The shortage includes major parts: gearboxes, rear fenders, bodies, and interior elements.

"I have been unable to get my car repaired for five months because the service center supposed to do it does not have the necessary parts," said the owner of a Changan UNI-V, who bought the car from an official dealer in July 2023 for 2.7 million rubles (around $30,000).

Ilya Plisov, a member of the board of the Union of Auto Service Centers, said that there is still no fast logistics from China. "And this affects the delivery times of such parts as gearboxes, rear fenders, i.e., those expensive to ship by air," Plisov explained.

The problem with parts for Chinese cars is acknowledged by the Fit Service auto service network (uniting over 300 service stations).

There are about 2000 dealership centers for Chinese brands in Russia. However, many brands are still not officially represented. Due to the lack of parts, Chinese cars are often repaired using used components. The share of such parts for popular brand vehicles already constitutes 40% of the total market offering.