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Camouflage: Chinese car companies disguise themselves in Russia under new brands

Simultaneously with the launch of a new automobile brand Knewstar on the Russian market, Geely stopped selling the Tugella crossover in Russia. Disguising themselves under new brands, Chinese car companies are trying to protect themselves from possible sanctions and at the same time not to lose important markets for them in other countries, experts say.Новости СМИ2 Details in the material of "Izvestia".

UNDER A NEW NAME

Coupe-crossover Geely Tugella left the Russian market, according to the analytical agency "Avtostat". This car disappeared from the model lineup presented on the official website of the Chinese automaker. Its sales in our country began at the end of 2020 and until September this year almost 34 thousand of these coupe-crossovers were realized, the agency notes. The best result for almost four years, during which the car was present on the Russian market, was shown in 2023 - it was purchased by more than 15 thousand people. For eight months of the current year Tugella in our country sold 11 thousand copies, note in "Avtostat".

Almost simultaneously with the disappearance of information about Tugella from the Geely website, the presentation of a new automobile brand Knewstar took place in our country. It is represented so far by only one model - crossover "001", which is almost an exact copy of the "Tugella". In fact, it differs only by a different grille and some decorative elements in the interior trim. From a technical point of view, the Knewstar 001 is a clone of the Geely Tugella: it is equipped with exactly the same two-liter turbo engines with an output of 200 or 238 hp with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed "automatic".

"001" IS NOT ALONE

Official sales of the model "001" will start in October, however, according to the analytical agency "Avtostat", some dealers have cars already now. At the same time, the analysis of prices for the new model, conducted by specialists of the agency, showed that it will cost 4-6% cheaper than "Tugella" at a similar level of equipment, depending on the configuration.



As Knewstar representatives reported during the presentation, in addition to the model "001", a compact crossover "002" will soon appear in our country. Also a sedan of D class will be available to Russian buyers.



Production of Knewstar models is established at the new plant of the company in the Chinese city of Harbin, about 600 kilometers from the Russian border. Distribution of the new brand, supply of cars and spare parts, maintenance and certification will be handled by the company "Slava Motors Rus". It already performs the same functions with regard to other Geely "clones" - Belgee crossovers assembled in Belarus.

The Russian office of Geely could not answer the request of Izvestia regarding the reasons for the disappearance of the Tugella model from the official website of the company.

THERE IS SOMETHING TO LOSE

The Russian market is very important for Geely, but at the same time the company is involved in other major international projects, experts say. By bringing one or another of its models to Russia under other brands, the company is "laying down straw", insuring itself against potential secondary sanctions, they believe.



- Car production is only one part of Geely's business. In addition to producing cars, the company participates in major international telecommunications and space projects, and cooperates with SpaceX of Ilon Musk. Undoubtedly, it is a serious player in our market, confidently entering the top three most popular foreign car brands. But, in addition to Russia, the company also has projects in other countries that it does not want to risk," Igor Morzharetto, a partner of the Avtostat analytical agency, told Izvestia.



He noted that the establishment of an assembly plant in Belarus and the launch of the Belgee brand on our market was a strategic decision of the company, which turned out to be successful - Belarusian cars have been among the top ten most popular models on our market for the past few months. The appearance of Knewstar brand and its further development is the next step in this direction, the expert believes.



Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, reminded that Geely is a major player in the global automobile industry. The Chinese company owns the Swedish brand Volvo, it owns the British brand Lotus, as well as the company LEVC, which produces a new generation of London cabs with a hybrid powertrain. The Chinese automaker also owns a stake in Aston Martin. In addition, he is one of the largest shareholders of Mercedes-Benz,

- Such a position Geely is forced to behave quite cautiously. That is why the company is trying to differentiate its activities in our country, bringing to the market already known models, which are sold under other brands. Assuming that sanctions will be tightened and the Chinese brand will have to leave Russia in order not to lose the markets of other countries, it will have "reserve airfields" here," Maxim Kadakov told Izvestia.



The first alarm bells have already been ringing: last summer, Ukraine's National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) included Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in the list of "international war sponsors" because the company is represented on the Russian market and pays taxes to the Russian budget. Against this background, in Sweden there were calls to abandon Volvo cars even at the state level.



According to Maxim Kadakov, the withdrawal of new brands allows to kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand, the company thus distances itself from potential difficulties and problems due to possible sanctions, on the other hand - Russian consumers still have the opportunity to buy already known models, albeit under a different brand, he notes.

BRAND DISGUISE

The appearance of Belgee and Knewstar brands on the market is the most vivid, but not the only example of "camouflage", experts believe. XCITE X-Cross 7 crossovers are produced in St. Petersburg according to a similar scheme, and soon X-Cross 8 model will appear on the assembly line, which, in fact, are slightly modified Chery Tiggo 7 and 8 of the last generation. Moskvich has a similar picture with Sollers (these cars are based on JAC crossovers, sedans and vans). The Amberavto electric cars produced at Avtotor in Kaliningrad are , in fact, modified JMEV models.

In Igor Morzharetto's opinion, if the sectional pressure intensifies, the number of such "camouflage" brands will increase. At the same time, these may be both projects to produce "secret" cars in our country and their import.