Chinese Manufacturers Dominate Russian Truck Market Amid Sanctions and Supply Chain Disruptions

Due to the sanctions, all European manufacturers have left Russia and the supply of all imported components to car manufacturers – Daimler, ZF, WABCO, Cummins and so on – has completely stopped. However, the market has not fallen, but on the contrary is growing: +51.3% in the first three months of this year.

Now in the top ten truck sales in Russia, there is no Scania, no Mercedes, no other Europeans, but there are Chinese – Sitrak, Shacman, FAW, Howo, Foton, JAC. At the same time, the Sitrak C7H tractor, which had never been in Russia before, is in first place among the models.

The Sitrak C7H is a Chinese licensed copy of the MAN TGX tractor. The engine has a volume of 13 liters and an output of 480 hp/352 kW, the gearbox is ZF TRaXon and the brake system was supplied by Wabco. When viewed from the side, the Sitrak tractor is completely unrecognizable from the MAN TGX. The interior is different, but from the driver’s point of view, the truck behaves very well.

It is true that there are problems with the wiring in operation: it is still not MAN! Shacman supplies X3000 6×4 and 8×4 dump trucks to Russia. They have their own cabs, Cummins diesel engines (made in China, Dongfeng), Fast Gear transmissions, HanDe axles. The gross vehicle weight (GVW) is 41.5 t for the model with a 6×4 chassis layout, and 51 tons for the four-axle model with 8×4 drive.

From Naberezhnye Čelny

Kamaz, which was heavily dependent on European components, began to produce “anti-sanction” models. On the Kamaz-54901 tractor (K5 series), the Mercedes Actros MP4 cab is now completely made in Russia, from Russian steel and without Daimler management.

Under the cabin is a Kamaz inline six-cylinder diesel engine with a maximum output of 450 horsepower. Chinese Fast Gear gearbox is now applied instead of ZF TraXon box, Chinese HanDe instead of Daimler rear axle, Chinese Sorl replaced Wabco brake system. Instead of the turntable (fifth wheel) Jost, a product of the Russian Technotron is included.

Starting from the middle of this year, Kamaz plans to produce a thousand such tractors per month, and soon the equipment will change. Instead of a 12-liter engine, there will be a 13-liter one, and instead of a 10″ screen, there will be a 15.6″ screen.

The Kamaz-6520 dump truck (K3 series) with the old cab received restyling and the type designation K3+. The bumper is all-metal and three-part, the interior of the cabin is new. The axles are now Chinese (HanDe), the 9L Cummins engine is fully produced in Russia without Cummins management control and named Kamaz. Eighteen-speed ZF transmission is also produced in Russia under the Kamaz brand. The weight of the dump truck was increased to 41.5 tons to compete with the Chinese.

Chinese Trakker

Iveco also left Russia and the Iveco-AMT joint venture in the Urals, which produced Trakker vehicles for Siberia and the northern territories. The company is now called simply AMT and assembles Chinese copies of the Iveco Trakker – Saic Hongyang produced under a license agreement with Ivec. Models that are also equipped with a HanDe front drive axle are converted from a 6×4 chassis type to a 6×6. The production plan by the end of 2023 talks about the production of 1,200 heavy duty trucks called ChinaTrakker.

New “small” engine

GAZ begins production of its own G21 diesel engine in place of the sanctioned Cummins 2.8 engine. The GAZ G21 is a localized Chinese Foton 2.5 engine with a maximum output of 150 hp/110 kW. While the classic Gazelle Next model is already equipped with this engine, the new Gazelle NN and Sobol NN models will appear later with this engine under the hood.

The Sable NN is the “new little gazelle”. It features a low roof and single tires on the rear axle. The gross vehicle weight (GVW) is 2.5 t or 3.5 t. GAZ now also has a new gearbox. Instead of the original five-speed transmission, it now has a six-speed transmission.

There are two new models in the medium-duty truck class, both with Chinese cabs. GAZ has a new Valdai 8 model (Foton cab, GAZ chassis, new six-speed gearbox and new GAZ G21 engine). Kamaz produces the Compass 9 and Compass 12 models, this is a facelifted Chinese JAC with the Kamaz badge. Lighter Compass models will appear later, including the Gazelle competitor.

China is trying

More than 53% of the new truck market in Russia is occupied by Chinese manufacturers. Sanctions and component supply cuts are transforming the Russian market for new trucks. Kamaz still maintains the status of the No. 1 brand and sales leader in Russia (as well as Lada), but the share of the auto giant from Naberezhny Chelny is declining.

In January 2023, 1,765 Kamaz trucks were sold, which is 24.2% less than in the same period last year. Kamaza is supported by Chinese manufacturers: Sitrak, Shacman, FAW and Howo, whose total sales in January exceeded three thousand cars. Russia’s GAZ is sixth in popularity, but its sales in January also fell by 32.5% — to 414 cars. Another Russian manufacturer, Ural, fell by 66.8% to 178 trucks. While Chinese manufacturers reported record sales. Belarusian MAZ could feel a little better than the Russians, which increased sales by 70.4% to 409 cars, but it was also affected by the wave of anti-Russian sanctions.

In February 2023, the trend of reducing the share of Russian manufacturers continued: sales of Kamaz fell by 37.9% compared to last year — to 2020 cars. However, Sitrak sold 485 more trucks than in January 2023 and retained the second place in the ranking of popular new truck brands. Sales of Shacman, FAW, Howo and Foton cars increased. Only China’s JAC began to lose ground.

Another trend characteristic of the Russian car market in 2023 was manifested here — the Chinese compete not only with Russians and Belarusian MAZs, but also very actively among themselves. And it seems that JAC can no longer stand up to this competition. The company’s revenue fell by 14.1% compared to the same period last year.

The most popular model on the January new truck market was the Chinese Sitrak C7H. The other is also the Chinese FAW CA3310. Kamaz cars 43118 and 65115 are the third and fourth. At the same time, sales of the Kamaz 43118 fell by 18.9% and the Russian model GAZ Gazon Next by 34.3%. In comparison, the sales of Chinese FAW CA3310 increased from 31 trucks in January 2022 to 471 trucks in January 2023. Shacman SX3318, Shacman SX3258 and Howo T5G are actively conquering the Russian market.

The top models of the sales leaders in February 2023 have not changed: they are Sitrak C7H, FAW CA3310 and Kamaz 43118. However, according to Autostat, sales of Kamaz 43118 continue to decrease – by 32.5% in February. GAZ continued to lose ground – by 32.8%.

Russian production is losing

Russian manufacturers are also expected to lose market share for new trucks in the first two months of 2023. The share of Kamaz fell from 38% to 24.5%, GAZ reduced its share from 9% to 6% and Ural fell from 7.8 to 3%. Sitrak immediately captured 16% of the market, Shacman has 13.9% and FAW controls 9%. The Sitrak C7H model captured 16% of the market, the FAW CA3310 has 6.7% and the Kamaz 43118 recorded a 6.6% share. Kamaz still holds the leading position in the market of new trucks ahead of Chinese manufacturers.

The best-selling models on the Russian market in the first months of 2023 were the Chinese Sitrak C7H and the FAW CA3310. However, it is also necessary to realize that the statistics of production and sales of trucks in Russia, for obvious reasons, do not take into account the so-called state defense order. In its framework, Russian manufacturers supply their products to the military, and the information is, of course, a state secret.

Authors: Fedor Lapšin, Milan Olšanský