Kaluga Tenet versus Chinese Chery: Why do our cars sell for more than imported ones?

It is known that the basic truths of the market economy became known to Russians long before 1991. For example, here is a proverb from the 19th century and the "Poshekhonskaya Starina" by the writer Saltykov-Shchedrin: "Across the sea, a heifer costs a penny, but the ferry costs a ruble."

Let us explain for the illiterate:

The meaning of the popular expression is that even cheap imported goods become expensive due to logistics costs. It is more profitable for buyers to buy a domestically produced item than to transport it from far away.

Our government thought exactly the same when it decided to force foreign automakers to open their factories in Russia with the help of huge customs duties and recycling fees, thereby reducing retail prices inside the country. But in 2022, global brands left Russia, and at first it was assumed that instead of Toyota, Renault, Nissan, Mercedes and BMW, Chery, Changan, Geely, Dongfeng and other Chinese auto giants would build their factories.

Everyone knows that the cost price of Chinese cars in their homeland is 2.5-3 times less than retail prices in Russia. As Novye Izvestia recently wrote , sales of the modernized budget crossover Geely Cityray have begun in China from… 875 thousand rubles , while in our showrooms the same car is sold for 2.5-3.2 million rubles.

I wonder who would refuse to buy a brand new Russian-assembled Coolray for, say, one million rubles? As for me, there would be queues for a year in advance!

It must be assumed that similar B and C class crossovers from Chery cost no more in China than those from the half-Swedish Geely.

However, the timid Chinese friends, frightened by American sanctions, did not build anything in Russia themselves, limiting themselves to importing finished cars. Against this background, the attempts of Russian business to establish full-cycle production of cars deserve special attention. Following the Tula "Haval", assembly lines were launched at the former Volkswagen plant in Kaluga, producing crossovers under the brand "Tenet".

Crossover "Tenet T7". Photo: Tenet.ru

A look at the press releases, website and statements of the Kaluga manufacturer AGR shows that the word "Chery" and any analogies between the Tenet T7 and Chery Tiggo 7L, and the T8 and Chery Tiggo 8 Plus are considered indecent at the plant.

“The Russian automobile brand TENET was created in a technological partnership between AGR HOLDING and the Chinese company DEFETOO,” says the Tenet website.

Crossover "Tenet T8". Photo: Tenet.ru

Where the DEFETOO company came from, which has secret technical documentation from the Chery corporation, as well as access to original components, technologies and machine kits, is not reported. Although experts write that this is nothing more than an open secret, required only for the formal circumvention of sanctions and possible displeasure of Chery's Western partners regarding too close cooperation with Russia.

The designers of Tenet did a lot to distance their creation from the Chinese original.

So, the T8 has new headlights with LED-pattern in the form of cat's eyes, an original almost Jaguar radiator grille is installed along the entire front, other bumpers. There are, finally, hidden door handles, like the "Range Rover Velar"! Experts say that the interior design does not copy Chinese analogues.

However, the engines, gearboxes, electronics and chassis have not gone anywhere from the parent Chery. Only the suspension settings have been made for Russian roads.

But for us the main thing is that in Kaluga they do not just hang bumpers and wheels on ready-made cars from China, but they have organized in record time the production of cars in a full cycle - from welding and painting of bodies to the last detail. And in this sense, the management of AGR has already earned the title of heroes of capitalist labor and excellent import substitution workers.

In Kaluga, they don't just hang bumpers and wheels on ready-made cars from China, but they have organized full-cycle car production in record time. Photo: Tenet.ru

In mid-August 2025, the first cars from Kaluga with the "Made in Russia" sign went to dealers. Experts were eagerly awaiting the official price list for the new products. And then it happened...

On August 21, official prices for the Tenet T7 crossover assembled in Kaluga were announced:

🔹 Active — from 2,680,000 rubles

🔹 Prime — from 2,880,000 rubles

For now, Tenet T7 is offered only in a front-wheel drive modification with a 1.6 petrol turbo engine (150 hp) paired with a "robot". Later, a version with all-wheel drive will appear, the manufacturer promises.

It should be noted that we are talking about cars assembled in Russia "from scratch"; commercial recycling fees and customs duties were not paid for them as for finished imported cars.

Now we take a deep breath and look at how much the Chinese analogues of Tenet cost in Chery showrooms.

At this point, the victory trumpets deflate and the drums stop beating. You want to say something cheeky or twirl your finger at your temple: guys from Kaluga, are you okay with the basics of the market economy there? Where is at least some advantage of home assembly? How are you going to lure buyers to a completely unknown brand that has yet to win mass trust and authority?

The magazine "Avto.ru" has already managed to publish the results of the online survey:

It is clear that the more authoritative brand in the eyes of buyers is Chery, which has been present in Russia for 20 years. And even more understandable are the intentions of 53 percent, for whom price is decisive.

But it's not just the price tag that has marketers horrified.

— Tenet found itself in direct competition with its parent company Chery in the same market, — says NI auto expert Igor Lemeshev. — This is an absurd situation in itself. When Western, Japanese and Korean companies worked in Russia, they never sold the same models assembled here and imported from other markets. Otherwise, competition would have arisen within one brand.

And this rivalry has been there since the first day of sales of Tenet. It is enough to look at the offers of official Chery dealers. Chery Tiggo 7L is offered at a price of 1 million 876 thousand rubles and a discount of about 800 thousand rubles. Tenet dealers do not give anything except 50 thousand for trade-in yet.

Tenet T7 dealers will have to spend a long time explaining to customers why their options are hundreds of thousands more expensive than Chery dealers. Photo: Avto.ru

And how many tens or hundreds of cars will be sold in a year? We are not sure that the count will be in the tens of thousands.

But it is known that the profitability of full-cycle production is achieved at a minimum level of 50 thousand cars per year. A plant that employs four thousand workers needs large volumes. They are also necessary for Russian suppliers of components working on the localization of the brand. After all, no one is interested in opening new workshops or plants to produce, say, a couple of thousand steering rods or tens of thousands of brake pads.

"Nobody is going to limit sales of Chinese-assembled Chery. It can be assumed that Tenet will at best get its one and a half to two percent of the market, remaining a local manufacturer under the pressure of intense competition with the "parent" company. Exactly the same fate befell the Moskvich project. Losses of 8 billion rubles and a paltry 7.4 thousand cars sold in six months - is this the result that the initiators of the resuscitation of the capital's auto industry were aiming for?

The question is rhetorical. They, of course, wanted production volumes that were orders of magnitude larger. They just forgot to ask the mass buyer: do they really need a Chinese JAC with a Russian nameplate?

In the second half of 2025, the Moskvich plant is planning to start production of the first domestic electric car, the Atom. It’s a good thing. And the car is quite nice. But the mass Russian buyer shows no interest in electric trains. Not even a single one! Suffice it to say that sales of the Evolute i-PRO electric car localized in Lipetsk amount to about 100 units per month. For the whole of Russia! And the price is very affordable, and there are state benefits... And I would like to ask the Ministry of Industry and Trade once again: are you introducing horrific duties and recycling fees for the sake of the Atom and similar projects?