Popularity of the Chinese Volkswagen Jetta soars in Russia

The Jetta brand, originally from China, has been at the forefront of Russia's parallel import market.

In October, 1,120 cars of this brand were sold here, which allowed Jetta to take a place among the top fifteen in the all-Russian car market for the first time, as noted by Avtostat specialists, referring to the data of JSC PPC. This success put Jetta ahead of officially represented in Russia brands like Kaiyi, JAC and FAW, which offer a wide range of models.
Alexander Kovalev, representing the Expocar press service, notes that Jetta's leading position is largely due to technical parity with Volkswagen cars. For example, Jetta VS-5 and VS-7 models are comparable to Volkswagen Tiguan and Skoda Kodiaq respectively, and Jetta VA-3 sedan has technical characteristics similar to Volkswagen Polo and Skoda Rapid. These models were in demand in the Russian market, and after their departure, Russians are looking for similar options from other manufacturers. Special attention should be paid to the VA-3 model, which has become a subject of interest for taxi services due to its reliability and predictable service life, characteristic of VAG Group products.
"The high interest in Jetta cars among Russian buyers is due to a number of factors. Among the key ones are the reliability and quality evident in the engines and transmissions used in these models, as well as a wide range of safety systems, including adaptive cruise control, emergency braking, and advanced anti-theft systems. In combination with these features, the price tag on the Jetta also plays an important role in attracting the attention of buyers," shares Ilya Petrov, Director of Retail Sales at Avilon AG.
Pricing on Jetta cars varies from dealer to dealer. For example, in "Avilon" the price for sedan VA-3 starts from 2, 13 million rubles, compact crossover VS-5 is offered from 2, 6 million, and for its extended version VS-7 ask from 2, 8 million rubles, excluding special offers. Recall that the Jetta brand was created by the joint efforts of Volkswagen and FAW in 2019 specifically for the Chinese market.
As Alexander Kovalev notes, Jetta cars are delivered to Russia with the active support of FAW. According to preliminary data, the Jetta VA-3 sedan may soon begin to be officially sold in Russia under the FAW brand, similar to what is already happening in Belarus.
"Competitors of the VS-5 crossover include such models as the Haval Jolion, Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max, Geely Atlas Pro, FAW Bestune T77 and other compact crossovers. The larger VS-7 competes with models like the Haval F7. And the VA-3 sedan provides competition for the Geely Emgrand, Omoda S5, BAIC U5 Plus, and Kaiyi E5. The main advantages of Jetta are reliability and proven technologies of Volkswagen Group, while as disadvantages are noted not the most modern design and ergonomics", - summarizes the expert.