Anastasia Gorbacheva12:17, 12.01.25

Despite the sanctions, sales of the luxury brand in Russia increased by 39% in the first nine months of 2024.

Russian propagandists claim that Rolls-Royce sales in Russia are flourishing despite sanctions. The management of the British luxury brand has admitted that it is extremely difficult to influence the situation.

The Times writes that wealthy Russians can still buy luxury British cars.

Last year, a Moscow Rolls-Royce dealership advertised a Cullinan SUV, complete with massage seats and “starry sky” lighting, for 75 million roubles, or £644,000, as “new”. In November, the propaganda website RT reported that Rolls sales in Russia had risen by 39% in the first nine months of 2024.

“None of these cars were sold directly to our dealers,” said Chris Brownridge, chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “They all came through third parties. So clearly there are people out there trying very hard to get around the rules.”

The company sold 5,712 vehicles in 2024. While that number was down from its record-breaking 2023, Brownridge noted that overall sales were higher because the company sold more custom cars. Customer requests include 18-karat gold sculptures, intricate marquetry made up of more than 500 individually shaped pieces of wood, and holographic trim.

However, the company continues to receive reports that its vehicles are being illegally imported into sanctioned countries like Russia.

“Every Rolls-Royce that our dealer sells to a customer, we check who that customer is and where the car is going,” says Brownridge. “There is not a single dealer selling to customers outside the regions where they are supposed to be sold. We are confident of that. And any dealer who does not take that responsibility seriously will take a very serious swipe from us.”

However, the company can only monitor the customer to whom the dealer sells the car. Intermediaries buy cars and ship them across the border to Russia via Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

Russia bypasses Western sanctions 

Russians can still buy luxury cars of famous European brands , although their official import to the Russian Federation is prohibited. One of the most important assistants in bypassing Western restrictions is Georgia.

Direct exports of banned goods to Russia have certainly fallen to zero, but they have suddenly increased sharply for a number of Russia’s neighbors. Suddenly Britain is sending drone equipment to Kyrgyzstan and exporting luxury cars to Azerbaijan, in huge quantities. At the same time, Azerbaijan itself has suddenly started exporting luxury cars to other countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia, including Georgia and Kazakhstan, even though it does not produce them.

(C)UNIAN 2025