Russia Continues Pirated BMW Production Without Permission
Despite BMW's exit from Russia after the war in Ukraine, the Kaliningrad plant of former partner Avtotor is assembling SUVs without authorization, selling them at luxury prices. The vehicles lack quality control and use local parts.
Even though German automaker BMW left the Russian market following the full-scale war in Ukraine, the Kaliningrad plant of its former partner Avtotor continues to produce Bavarian company's SUVs without official permission.
According to the German publication Bild and the Russian service of DW, these cars are sold at luxury-class prices. Although they are registered as 2025 or 2026 models, externally they mostly correspond to 2022 models with some differences.
A BMW spokesperson told Radio Svoboda that unauthorized assembly continues to this day "in an irregular mode." The Bavarian concern warns buyers against purchasing "pirated" BMWs, noting that quality control has not been conducted since 2022.
As stocks of original spare parts dwindle, locally produced components are now being used. The vehicles are no longer connected to official BMW systems, so many digital functions likely work partially or with different software.
Avtotor charges 12-14 million rubles (about 150,000 euros) for a fake BMW. In Germany, a new BMW X7 sells for around 105,000 euros, Bild notes.
Automotive expert Sergey Aslanyan pointed out to The Insider in February that BMW assembly had resumed in Kaliningrad. According to him, after 2025, Avtotor began producing BMW X5 and X6 in top trims, and later the BMW X7.
