After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Western sanctions devastated its automotive market as many European brands pulled out. Never the one to miss an opportunity, the Chinese stepped in and started flooding Russia with their own vehicls, taking advantage of competitors departing en masse and provided the starving local car market with an increasing number of options.
The interesting part is that, thanks to their joint ventures with Western carmakers, the Chinese offer rebranded versions of vehicles that are otherwise off-limits in Russia. One example is the new-generation Nissan Patrol, which is sold as the 2025 Armada in North America. We’ll remind you that Nissan pulled out of Russia in 2022, after selling its operations to state-owned NAMI for the symbolic price of just 1 Euro.
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