The situation in the domestic car market in recent months is rapidly aggravated.

Against the backdrop of the shutdown of almost all Russian car factories, as well as the cessation of centralized deliveries of foreign cars and components to the country, sales fell to a multi-year low.

In May, according to the Association of European Businesses, fewer than 25,000 new cars were sold in Russia.

This is almost six times less than in May 2021.

The sharp drop in demand was affected not only by a massive reduction in supply, but also by a strong price hike, which forced most potential buyers to postpone their plans or reorient themselves to the secondary market.

The difficult situation in the domestic auto industry, which was based on Western technologies and components, worries the authorities as well.

Vladimir Putin held a special meeting on this topic last week.

“The situation requires us to work more efficiently”

“A number of contractors and suppliers of car factories were and are still abroad, and this is not some peculiarity of our car industry: such broad cooperation, long, cross-border production chains are a common practice today in the world.

Due to well-known circumstances and reasons, many of these ties have now been severed,” the president said.

He recalled that the partners of Russian car factories, despite long-term obligations, suspended deliveries or announced their departure.

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“Obviously, this demarche will affect the volume of production, and noticeably.

It is already reflected: in comparison with the indicators of the previous year, in March of this year, the output of the domestic auto industry was three times lower, and in April - five times lower.

Once again I would like to emphasize that the situation is not easy,” the head of state said.

Putin gave a number of instructions to relevant departments, naming two tasks as the most important.

First, to ensure the work of domestic auto plants, their supply with everything necessary to retain qualified specialists.

The second task, according to the president, is to saturate the market by providing a sufficient supply of cars, primarily cars.

On May 6, the Ministry of Industry and Trade published a list of goods allowed for parallel import to Russia, that is, bypassing official channels and without the permission of the copyright holder.

It also included the products of many manufacturers of new machines and components that suspended their activities after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.

A month and a half later, it can be stated that the introduction of parallel imports in the automotive industry has not yet given a noticeable effect - there is no mass importation of new foreign cars into the country, and no one knows exactly when this process will begin.

On the other hand, the import of auto parts into the country within the framework of parallel imports has already been established.

This, in particular, was stated by the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov on June 17 at SPIEF.

“During this period of time, according to information from the customs, about $ 2 billion of imported products passed through about 130 items that were imported into the territory of our country.

Basically - spare parts for cars, consumer products that go to stores, including critical imports - these are those components, spare parts, materials that our foreign colleagues refused to supply directly, ”he said in response to a question about the scale of the parallel import.

“Existing rules cannot be changed so quickly”

With the delivery of "gray" more or less large batches of cars, as RT found out, problems still arise.

It turned out that just giving the green light to the import itself is not enough - it is necessary to make sure that legal entities are interested in such a business, and this has not yet been observed for a number of reasons.

One of them was legislation, and not only Russian, but also applicable throughout the entire Customs Union.

So, you can register a new car only if you have a certificate of vehicle type approval (OTTS).

It is issued both for vehicles mass-produced in Russia and when a batch of new cars is imported into the country.

Legal entities receive OTTS - the automaker itself or, on its behalf, the importing company. 

Thus, it turns out that bypassing the right holder it becomes a very difficult task to obtain OTTS.

So, in particular, considers the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Behind the wheel" Maxim Kadakov.

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“In addition to the fact that obtaining OTTS is a rather complicated procedure that costs money, you need to find these cars somewhere else.

In the same Germany, nowhere are 200 ready-made Mercedes waiting for you, which you can buy at once.

They are hard to get and hard to bring.

Even if you take it and customs lets you in, you won’t register the car without OTTS.

And the existing rules cannot be changed so quickly.

It is then necessary to radically change the whole approach - to make changes to the technical regulations of the Customs Union and a number of other laws, already internal to Russia.

A car is not an electric kettle.

There are certain mechanisms, a legislative framework that are closely linked.

And it is impossible to change everything at the snap of a finger, otherwise it will be just bacchanalia.

Therefore, I do not think that something will fundamentally change in the near future, ”he told RT.

“The price increase will be significant”

Journalist and auto expert Igor Morzharetto believes that parallel imports are possible, but it makes sense only in the case of deliveries of expensive cars, and this scheme will not work with more affordable mass models.

“If OTTS has already been issued for a specific model in Russia, then you can use it and import it in parallel.

In addition, there is a scheme by which you can get OTTS not for the model itself, but for a small batch of cars.

Another thing is that this scheme is good when it comes to premium cars.

Because there is a serious cheating on the price at the expense of intermediaries, now there is still a risk of falling under sanctions.

Opportunities will eventually be found so as not to be substituted, but the increase in the primary price due to this complex chain will be significant.

That is why it is not suitable for budget cars - because for their buyers the price difference is very important, ”he told RT.

“In the coming month, the cars will begin to arrive”

Andrey Olkhovsky, General Director of Avtodom Group of Companies, agrees that parallel imports will mainly affect the range of expensive cars: “Parallel imports as a temporary measure will simplify the import of cars into Russia, in particular, this applies to premium class.

According to my feelings, in the coming month, cars will begin to arrive en masse through alternative channels.

The main suppliers of cars for parallel imports are the UAE and Germany.

The maximum margin in this business is associated precisely with the supply of expensive brands - Mercedes-Benz, Range Rover, Lexus, Toyota, etc.” 

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“Solvency has objectively decreased”

Auto journalist Khasan Ganiev draws attention to the fact that the parallel import of cars in the future can give the Russians a more diverse range of models.

“It's no secret that automakers often refuse to sell unprofitable models that are not in mass demand in certain local markets.

Therefore, in Russia, for example, it has long been impossible to buy a new convertible, a good station wagon, but everyone had a lot of crossovers.

But people also want something else.

In this regard, "gray" dealers, if they manage to establish supply chains and import cars in sufficient volume, are able to give some buyers what they were previously deprived of.

On the other hand, in addition to many legislative, sanctions factors, the strange behavior of the ruble, the problem is also in the current solvency, which has objectively decreased for people against the backdrop of a rapid rise in prices.

Therefore, the general uncertainty of the situation also hinders the establishment of parallel imports,” he states.

The interlocutor of RT noted that if deliveries of cars from abroad still go, then you need to be careful when buying, since these cars are intended for other markets and may have their own characteristics.

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“Some people think that adapting the model to the conditions of a particular country is the tricks of marketers, but this is far from always the case.

I remember how many years ago Mercedes from the United Arab Emirates were unofficially delivered to Russia, which did not have anti-corrosion treatment of the body, because it is always dry and sunny there.

There was also no stove in the cabin - in that climate it is objectively not needed, so the Germans simply did not install them.

Needless to say, it was virtually impossible to operate such machines in Russia,” Ganiev noted.