Volkswagen is taking action to combat parallel imports of its vehicles from China to Russia. This is reported by the German newspaper Handelsblatt. VW stopped deliveries of cars to Russia and local assembly in March 2022 after the escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine. Handelsblatt cites VW sources as saying there are “established trade routes from China to Russia” through which auto dealers ship cars. Previously, used vehicles were primarily sold in this way, but now these trade routes are also used to supply new ones. Russian car dealers also talk about such deliveries.
VW manufactures and sells cars in China mainly through joint ventures with local companies, the influence of the German concern on the operation of such joint ventures is limited. The automaker has banned the sale of cars in Russia to its own dealers, but cannot do this with respect to independent dealers. To combat parallel imports to Russia, VW is compiling blacklists of Chinese auto dealers who may be involved in such trade and to which the company stops supplying its cars, Handelsblatt reports.