Since the start of May, car dealers in St. Petersburg have been holding onto inventory that cannot be sold because some vehicles lack proper paperwork and, crucially, the vehicle passport system (PTS) required to transfer ownership. This situation has become a topic of concern for the local auto market and is being reported by Fontanka.ru. The core issue centers on imported cars, including well-known Chinese brands such as Changan, Haval, Chery, Omoda, and Exeed. In conversations with the press, Sergey Morenkov, a co-owner of the Avtopole group of companies, indicated that this bottleneck began to intensify about two months earlier. He attributed the delay to procedural snags at customs caused by a surge in imports, and he suggested there may also be complications related to the installation and activation of ERA-GLONASS devices in some vehicles. Fontanka.ru notes that these delays have broader implications for buyers who expect timely title processing and vehicle registration. — Fontanka.ru
Mikhail Zhukov, the general manager at Maximum, also commented on the customs hold-ups, noting that the time required to obtain titles has affected roughly a quarter of the cars in their lot. The same source reports that dealership staff have told customers the delays in issuing titles are connected to the state-owned FSUE NAMI, which operates under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This chain of factors paints a picture of a system stressed by a high volume of imports and a layered administrative process that touches several agencies and services involved in vehicle registration and compliance. For buyers, the outcome is uncertainty and longer wait times before they can take possession of a new car. — Fontanka.ru
Earlier reporting indicated that a deputy in the State Duma had raised objections surrounding the use of electric scooters on pedestrian roads, a debate that reflects the broader regulatory environment influencing transportation and mobility. While that legislative thread is separate from the car import and registration issues, it underscores how policy and compliance measures can ripple through different segments of the market, from automobiles to personal mobility devices, shaping how residents in St. Petersburg and beyond access new technology and vehicles. In the present context, the most immediate concern remains the title bottleneck and the passport system, which can stall otherwise ready-to-deliver vehicles and complicate consumer expectations for timely purchases. Fontanka.ru