Chery considers closing the Kaiyi brand in Russia

Chery has decided to wind down the operations of its subsidiary brand Kaiyi in Russia. This is reported by Auto.Mail.ru with reference to a source in the automotive industry. The reason for the departure was the weak consumer characteristics of the models on the market. Despite recent plans to expand the model range and the launch of production in Kaliningrad, the brand has failed to win steady demand.

Kaiyi failed to gain a foothold in Russia in two years

The Kaiyi brand, owned by Chinese automaker Chery, has been on the Russian market since 2023. The cars are produced at the facilities of the Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad. The current lineup includes the E5 sedan, X3 and X3 Pro crossovers, as well as the X7 SUV. The last model – all-wheel drive X7 – was put on the assembly line in April of this year.

The sales figures remain modest, however. In 2023, less than 8,000 Kaiyi vehicles were sold, according to Avtostat. Despite a 7.2% year-on-year increase, the company deemed these results insufficient. The lion’s share of sales came from the E5 sedan, with 6,030 vehicles.

In addition, 2024 saw a decline in government procurement, with public government contracts in which the brand was involved falling by 11%. However, Kaiyi vehicles are formally eligible to participate in tenders.

At the same time, Kaiyi’s vehicles are formally eligible to participate in tenders.

Growing dealer shortages intensified exit rumors

There was talk of the brand’s departure as early as last year. The situation worsened at the beginning of 2025, when one of the largest Russian car dealers “Rolf” stopped cooperation with Kaiyi and BAIC. The latter is not planning to leave the market yet. Other dealer networks followed Rolf’s example, explaining their refusal by low brand recognition and weak consumer interest.

According to sources, the losses incurred by Avtotor from cooperation with Kaiyi and BAIC amounted to 4.3 billion rubles in 2023. This data became an additional argument in favor of the termination of Kaiyi’s presence in Russia.

Kaiyi denied reports of its departure

Representatives of the brand said that the information about the completion of work in Russia does not correspond to reality. According to the press service, production of all models continues at the Avtotor plant in the Kaliningrad region. Today in Russia there are 62 Kaiyi dealer centers located in the largest cities of the country. All of them provide warranty service and customer support.

The Chery considers closing the Kaiyi brand in Russia was first published on ITZine.ru.