A new seven-seat crossover “Moskvich 8” has gone on sale in Russia, with prices starting at 2.98 million rubles (about $37,000).

However, two weeks after the start of sales, dealerships managed to sell only one car, reports the Russian publication Autonews.

“The cars are available. All the configurations are available, and there is no queue. The first sale has already taken place. We delivered the car literally last week. And we announced the car two weeks ago,” said the manager of one of the largest Russian car dealers, Rolf, which was the first to start selling the new Moskvich.

An Autonews correspondent who visited the showroom confirmed the lack of excitement: according to him, there was not a single potential customer in the salon.

Currently, the new Moskvich 8 is offered in three trim levels (“Business”, “Techno”, “Premium”), but only in two colors – white and black. Other color options may not appear soon, a car dealership employee admitted. Previously, the Russian AvtoVAZ also painted the Granta model in only two colors – black and white due to problems with the supply of paint due to sanctions. 

Autonews notes that the Moskvich 8 was supposed to go on sale in 2024, but that didn’t happen. In February 2025, it was reported that sales would start at the end of winter, but the dates were postponed again.

The new Moskvich is positioned as the brand’s flagship crossover. However, in reality, it is a Russian copy of the Chinese Sehol X8 model. In all trim levels, the car has only one engine option – a 1.5-liter gasoline turbo engine with a capacity of 174 hp, one wheel diameter option and no all-wheel drive.

As reported, “Muscovites” in Russia have begun production at the former Renault plant in Moscow with a capacity of 180,000 cars per year. In fact, they are assembling copies of Chinese cars under the Soviet brand there.

Russian media have found out that the first new Moskvich is actually a renamed Chinese Sehol E40X . The crossovers come from China in the form of car kits. A small assembly line has been organized at the former Renault plant in Russia for their assembly, where the Moskvichs are moved between posts manually on trolleys. Of the Russian-made elements in the Moskvichs, only the Era-Glonass navigation system is included. Even the emblems and nameplates for the Moskvichs are made in China.

In addition, the plant produces the compact crossover “Moskvich 3” and its electric version “Moskvich 3e”, which turned out to be variants of the Chinese JAC JS4 and iEVS4. In turn, the liftback “Moskvich 6” is a version of the Chinese Sehol A5 Plus, a sub-brand of JAC Motors.

At the same time, out of 31 thousand “Moskvichs” assembled in 2023, less than half – 15.3 thousand cars – were sold. There is no data for 2024.

Author:  Mykhailo Orlyuk Джерело: https://censor.net/n3569714

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