Between January and September, demand for car repair services in Russia rose by about 25 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, according to Izvestia, citing data from the 2GIS mapping service. The headline takeaway is that more vehicle owners sought maintenance and repairs, signaling a noticeable shift in the market for automotive aftercare within the country.
During the same nine-month window, 2GIS users tapped into car repair services roughly 24 million times. Additionally, from October 2020 up to now, the number of service stations across Russia has grown by around 13 percent, and those stations collectively handle an average of about 800 vehicles per year each. This expansion suggests a strengthening infrastructure to support a growing demand for routine maintenance and more involved repairs.
Industry observers note that activity in the car service sector has surged particularly in the last two years. Tatyana Ovchinnikova, who directs the Fit Service car service network, attributes the uptick in demand partly to a steadily aging vehicle fleet. She points out that the workload on service centers is quite heavy, with the traffic at many shops running at nearly half the intensity seen in comparable operations in Germany or China, illustrating a stark contrast in utilization and capacity across international markets.
Ilya Plisov, a member of the board of directors of the Automobile Services Association, added that the busy service landscape is shaped by a gap between the need for new vehicles and what consumers are already using. The existing fleet is accumulating mileage and accumulating more service requirements, which translates into sustained pressure on repair facilities and parts supply chains.
There have been previous reports of incidents involving repair shops in Kaliningrad, including cases where a client reported the theft of a vehicle from a service center. Such episodes highlight risks that can accompany high-volume operations and emphasize the importance of robust security measures within automotive service environments. In response, industry voices stress the need for heightened vigilance, standardized procedures, and improved accountability across service networks.