Russia Is Just the Market Chinese Automakers Need
Cut off from the rest of the world, Moscow is getting its supply from a nation that needs to find new buyers.
Convenient relationship.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergRussia’s current standing in the international community — from economic pariah to massive supplier of fossil fuels — seems perfectly suited to the predicament faced by traditional Chinese automakers. In fact, sanctions against Moscow are likely the single largest driver of vehicle exports from its neighbor since the invasion of Ukraine began more than two years ago.
As China’s economy slows and buyers are increasingly choosing electric vehicles, makers of old-school internal-combustion-engine (ICE) cars had become desperate to find new markets. The US is off the table amid an escalating trade war, and Europe’s appetite for foreign models is fading, leaving few good choices after Russia’s attack on Ukraine spurred overseas companies to ditch the country.