New car sales soar in Belarus with new players coming in

May 5, BPN. Member companies of the Belarusian Automobile Association (BAA) sold a total of 1,661 new cars in April, said Minsk-Lada CEO Alaksandr Stelmach, a BAA board member. That was an increase of 86 percent year on year.

He said the market recovery was driven by the increased sales of Geely, a Chinese vehicles assembled in Belarus. The Chinese carmaker has supplied a “sufficient number of cars” to dealers, expanded its model range, and offered attractive financing options.

Other Chinese brands are entering the market, Exeed, FAW and Skywell among them, Stelmach said. They are replacing European brands, allowing car dealers to maintain a supply of new cars.

Since the start of 2023, Belarusian car dealers sold a total of 4,574 new cars, with Geely reporting the largest number of units sold (3,218), followed by Lada (371) and Audi (257), the BAA noted.

Saipa, a major Iranian carmaker, announced its plans to supply 45,000 cars, including Shahin and Saina sedans and Quick crossovers, to Belarus and Russia. The contracts amount to about €450 million, Iran’s IRNA reported.

Earlier, Siarhiej Samojła, executive director at Belarus’ Atlant-M automotive holding, predicted that “new players” may enter the Belarusian car market in the third quarter of 2023, expanding the range of available brands and models.

In 2022, Belarusian dealers sold a total of 14,843 new cars with top three brands being Geely (4,355), Lada (3,782) and Kia (1,462).