Tens of thousands of foreign cars are exported from China to Russia, bypassing sanctions

Tens of thousands of cars are exported from China to Russia under "gray market" schemes that allow them to circumvent Western and Asian sanctions, as well as manufacturersʼ obligations to leave the Russian market.

Reuters writes about this.

According to journalists, new cars are first exported to China and then delivered to Russia through Chinese intermediaries. The cars are often reclassified as "used" to avoid manufacturer regulations.

Both mass-market brands and premium cars are involved in the scheme. For example, Toyota and Mazda supply cars to the Russian market through Chinese traders. German luxury models, including Mercedes-Benz and BMW, also enter Russia through these channels.

Reuters journalists note that dealers work through "informal networks" — they make agreements with Chinese companies that officially buy cars from manufacturers and then resell them to Russia. This way, cars end up in Russian showrooms without direct contact with the manufacturer.

Manufacturers say they are doing everything they can to stop unauthorized exports, but the complexity of the schemes and the involvement of many intermediaries make it difficult to track the entire supply chain.

• Data shows that the number of such cars has more than doubled since 2023. They now account for almost half of the approximately 130 000 cars sold in Russia in 2025 from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia.
• More than 700 000 foreign-branded cars have been sold in Russia since the beginning of Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Demand for foreign cars remained high, and dealers used every possible scheme to satisfy it.

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