Regulator bans sale of four Chinese truck makes in Russia
The Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rosstandart) has banned the sale in Russia of a number of Chinese-made Dongfeng, Foton, FAW and Sitrak trucks. In its announcement, Rosstandart referred to a protective clause in the Customs Union's Technical Regulation on Wheeled Vehicle Safety.
The decision was made following "unscheduled site inspections at the vehicle manufacturers' official representative offices". According to Rosstandart, the decision arose from violations of mandatory requirements "that pose a significant danger of injury and death to both vehicle drivers and other road users, including pedestrians". In particular, it concerns non-compliance with mandatory requirements regarding brake system efficiency, vehicular noise, and the installation of an emergency call device.
In addition, the regulator cited "numerous documentary irregularities" regarding confirmation of vehicle resistance to external electromagnetic radiation, seat belt attachment points, seat belt installation, seats, seat anchorages and head restraints, vehicle anti-theft safeguards, emissions, and the installation of rear protections, side protections, steering, and front underrun protections.
Rosstandart said it issued instructions for the truck manufacturers to issue recalls, suspend vehicle sales, and address the identified violations of the technical regulation. Rosstandart stated that all the representative offices have already started developing programmes to rectify the violations.
A similar vehicle type approval (VTA) recall took place earlier this year in February in the case of Chinese Shacman SX3258 trucks.
Russia's leading goods vehicle manufacturer is KamAZ, which is estimated to have a 40% share of the truck market. According to Business Online, of the four brands affected by the Rosstandart ban, Sitrak had the strongest position on the Russian market, being KamAZ's main competitor in terms of haulage vehicles. In spring 2024, KamAZ CEO Sergey Kogogin said that China itself has strict regulations, but they were exporting vehicles to Russia "which are now effectively dangerous for road users". At the same time, he said, Chinese manufacturers "have no tradition of recalls." "They followed a simple principle – while Russian law sleeps, we act," he said.