"I'm Shocked! Is This A New Car?"
- 10.06.2025, 13:00
Russian car dealerships are selling junk to Russians at the price of BMW.
The Russian automobile industry, cut off from Western technologies and components, has become a laughingstock. Manufacturers are offering Russians cars for a fabulous 1.7 million rubles (about $22,000 at the current exchange rate), the quality of which is not just disappointing, but a real shock.
Details and footage are available on the Telegram channel "Ukraine 365".
Since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, Russian cars have risen in price by 70-86%, while Chinese cars have doubled in price. And at the same time, Russians are increasingly complaining about the frankly low quality of new cars.
"Where is the stereo? Where are the speakers? Where are the buttons on the steering wheel?!" - This is how the video review of one of the buyers of the new Lada Vesta, which supposedly represents the next generation of the Russian car industry, starts emotionally.
The car, according to the driver, is deprived of basic elements of comfort: no multimedia, no speakers, no seat belt adjustment, no seat heating and even headrests. Instead of speakers there are polyethylene plugs.
"The belts are not adjustable, but there is an alarm system - in case someone wants to steal this 'luxury'," ironizes the author of the video, demonstrating the interior, in quality reminiscent of cars of the 90's.
The second video in social networks is gaining thousands of views - a man shows a brand new Lada Niva 2022 right in the showroom.
"All the seams are already rusting! I'm shocked! This is a new car!" - he comments, pointing to the corrosion that appeared even before the car hit the road.
AvtoVAZ's most mass-produced model, the Granta, has gone up in price by 70% since the end of 2021. Vesta and Largus - by 85-86%. Even the ancient Niva Legend, which has been produced for 48 years without radical changes, has increased in price by 56%.
But in the European market for the same money you can buy a Volkswagen Golf 2020 with multimedia, heating, climate control and cruise, Kia Forte or Hyundai Elantra 2022 with rich equipment, Mazda 3 2021 in excellent condition, with a high safety rating and other quality cars.
For the same money a Russian gets a car that does not meet modern standards even by the standards of developing countries.
According to Avtostat's analysis, sales in Russia are falling rapidly. The manufacturer has started to give discounts, but they do not help: the mass consumer is simply not ready to pay almost two million for a "rusty bucket".