In September, a record number of cars were imported into Russia in 12 years

The most popular among imported cars in September were Chinese models: Geely Monjaro, Geely Boyue, Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, Geely Atlas and Haval M6. According to the agency, Chinese brands accounted for almost 79% of all new car imports this month, while a year ago their share was 86% of total imports of 80.7 thousand units. Next in popularity were cars from Kyrgyzstan (7.7%) and Belarus (6.4%).

During the period from January to September, 683 thousand new cars were imported into Russia, 49% more than in the same period last year. As Autostat analysts note, car imports have increased steadily since April.

Autostat CEO Sergei Udalov attributes the increase in imports to an attempt by importers to save money before increasing the recycling rate. A long-term program to index this rate until 2030 came into effect on October 1, providing for an annual increase of 10 to 20%. When importing vehicles, a recycling fee is charged to offset the costs of their disposal. In fact, it serves as a protection for Russian automakers as they can count on government support.

Since October 2024, the vehicle tax has increased by 1.7-1.8 times, and for popular models with a displacement of 1-2 liters, their size this year increased by 85% to 556.2 thousand rubles, and next year it will reach 667.4 thousand rubles. In 2030, the price for this category of vehicles will be 1.17 million rubles per unit.

Against the background of growing imports of new cars, a decrease of 8% was recorded in the used car segment during the nine months of 2024, to 294.1 thousand units. Japan remains the main supplier of used cars, accounting for almost 47% of imports, followed by Belarus (19%), South Korea (15%), China (6%) and Georgia (4%).

Udalov explains the decrease in used car imports by the introduction of measures to restrict the import of cars through the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Starting April 1, Russia began charging additional customs duties when the cost of imported cars was underestimated, which affected supplies, especially through Kyrgyzstan.

In September, imports of used cars increased 2.5 times compared to the same period last year and amounted to 42.6 thousand units. The most popular models were the Japanese Honda Freed, Toyota Corolla, Honda Fit, Honda Stepwgn and Nissan Note. The increase is due to the fact that Japan previously banned the supply of cars with a displacement of more than 1.9 liters.

In total, about 147,000 cars, both new and used, were imported into Russia in September, which is a record in the last 16 years. The previous maximum was recorded in October 2008, when 160 thousand cars were imported, as indicated in the Autostat report.

In early October, Bloomberg sources reported that EU countries voted to increase tariffs to 45% on imports of electric vehicles from China. The European Commission can introduce tariffs that will be in force for five years. The decision came after an investigation by EU authorities found that China was unfairly subsidizing its industry. The People’s Republic of China rejected this accusation and threatened to impose retaliatory duties on European dairy products, brandy, pork, and automobiles.