In 2022, the number of registered cars in certain regions of Russia declined for the first time after years of growth, according to Kommersant citing data from the state traffic inspectorate.
Official statistics show that 60.45 million vehicles were registered across the country in 2022, which is 312 thousand fewer than the previous year, a drop of 0.5 percent. Over the three years from 2019 to 2021, the Russian car fleet had already expanded by about one to two percent annually, setting a high baseline for 2022.
Specific declines in 2022 were recorded in Moscow where the fleet contracted by 16.6 thousand units, in the Moscow region by 11.1 thousand units, and in St. Petersburg by around 11 thousand units. Other notable decreases appeared in the Saratov region with about 7.9 thousand fewer vehicles, in Krasnodar Territory by 7.3 thousand, and in the Pskov region by roughly 5 thousand.
Conversely, five regions reported positive dynamics in vehicle registrations with the traffic police. Primorye led with an increase of about 15 thousand units, followed by Kaliningrad with around 9 thousand and Tyumen with about 5.3 thousand. Tatarstan added approximately 2 thousand units, and Kamchatka saw a modest rise of about 1 thousand.
Earlier reporting noted that a Moscow based company, Alfa Avtomativ Technologies, began supplying body parts for Haval vehicles produced at a factory in the Tula region, a sign of ongoing manufacturing and supply chain activity despite regional shifts in vehicle registrations.