Yo, check this out! Russia has been importing a ton of cars from China, and it’s on the rise. In the first nine months of 2023, they brought in 414,000 finished vehicles, which is a whopping 250% increase from the previous year. And guess what? 97% of these cars are coming from China! That’s a big jump from 2022 when China only sent 117,000 finished vehicles to Russia.
The rise in imports is all thanks to the increase in electric vehicle (EV) sales in Russia. Russia’s railway monopoly RZD is doing its thing, delivering EVs in 40-foot containers from China to the European part of Russia. China is killing it in the Russian finished vehicle market and is the world’s top producer of EVs. So, it’s no surprise that we’ll be seeing more traffic on this route in the coming months.
RZD Logistics, a subsidiary of the railway monopoly, has come up with different ways to load EVs into 40-foot containers, depending on their weight and size. They’re making it work, you know?
All these shipments are coming from the Chengdu terminal in China and ending up at the Selyatino station in Moscow oblast. But hold up, they’re thinking of adding more departure points like Xi’an, Shanghai, and other Chinese regions. That’s some serious expansion right there!
Here’s the kicker – Chinese authorities used to ban the transport of EVs by rail because of those lithium batteries. But guess what? They lifted the ban, and now we’ve got regular deliveries happening. Way to go, China!
Last year, Russia saw a fourfold increase in the number of finished vehicles imported by rail. That’s huge! And get this, they imported almost as many finished vehicles by rail as they did by sea for the first time ever. That’s a game-changer, my friend.
But wait, there’s more. The overall number of finished vehicles moved by rail in and through Russia dropped by 46% compared to 2021. Within Russia, the number of finished vehicle deliveries went down by 54%, and export volumes from Russia took a nosedive by 81%. Finished vehicles transiting through Russia? That dropped by a whopping 75%. But guess who’s coming to the rescue? China, that’s who! They’re playing a major role in bringing those numbers back up.
Now, let’s talk routes. There are a few ways those Chinese finished vehicles are getting into Russia. One way is by sea to Vladivostok Sea Port, and then they’re loaded onto trains and sent west to European Russia. Another way is through existing Russia-China border crossings, either in containers or car carriers.
Fesco, a Russian transport company, delivered finished vehicles from Guangzhou to Moscow in containers through China’s Khorgos and Kazakhstan’s Altynkol border crossing. And you know what’s cool about container delivery? No need to switch to a different rail track gauge at the border, and the tariffs are lower compared to car carriers and mesh wagons. It’s a win-win!
The Russian finished vehicle logistics industry is entering a new era, my friend. With western carmakers leaving the Russian market, railway logistics is taking the lead. Every other foreign finished vehicle is coming into Russia by rail, and 70% of that is in containers. It’s a whole new ball game!
And let’s not forget about the EV market. Sales in the Russian EV market shot up by a crazy 340% from January to August 2023 compared to the previous year. That’s some serious growth, even though the actual numbers are still pretty low. Russian customers only bought 7,000 EVs, but hey, it’s a start!
The Russian government is getting in on the action too. They’re planning to dish out 30 billion roubles ($320m) in the next three years to support the demand for EVs in Russia. Soft loans and discounts on Russian-made EVs are on the table. Plus, they’re working hard to expand the EV infrastructure. By 2030, they’re aiming for 220,000 domestic EV sales per year, and by 2035, EVs will make up 25% of vehicle sales. That’s a bold move, and it looks like the future is electric!
+ There are no comments
Add yours