Russia Continues To Produce “Illegal” 145 BMWs In 2025

BMW never had its own factory in Russia, but before 2022, it did build 5-Series and SUVs there at a factory owned by the Russian company Avtotor.

The X5, X6, and X7 also rolled off the assembly line there, although it involved assembly rather than production. BMW therefore sent parts kits to the factory in Kaliningrad, where complete, working cars were made from them. That stopped after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and since then, the Avtotor factory has primarily built Chinese trucks.

Apparently, a pile of BMW parts lay somewhere in a corner of the complex. The Russian website Kommersant.ru (thanks to Carscoops for the tip) reports that around 145 brand-new BMWs were built in 2025 using those leftover parts. Those cars were reportedly sold quickly, as interest in BMWs remains high. BMW itself, of course, wants nothing to do with these cars and emphasizes that no form of quality control has taken place on BMWs built in Russia since 2022.

It is not surprising that the BMWs sold so well when you consider that purchasing an imported BMW has also officially been impossible since 2022. BMW now only offers referrals to used cars on its own Russian website, but reportedly, a great many BMWs and other Western cars still end up on Russian roads via China. And thus, a little bit via Kaliningrad as well.

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