Most foreign car manufacturers have closed or shut down their factories and stopped supplying cars to Russia. Car dealers interviewed by the TASS agency note that their stocks of foreign cars, depending on the models, will be sufficient at best until late 2022 – early 2023.
Parallel imports have not yet justified hopes, there are problems with both logistics chains and paperwork. The share of Chinese cars has grown, but not enough to fully saturate the market.
According to the report of the Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the Association of European Businesses, sales fell 59.6% in September compared to the same month last year.
Now the dealers mainly have cars from the expensive brands Audi, BMW, Mini and Mercedes-Benz. Through parallel imports, Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover gradually began to be imported.
Due to the fact that there are few cars, dealers have pushed up prices as they will somehow have to hold out the “leftovers” until better times. Dealers admit that the average cost of new cars in the mass segment increased by an average of 19% compared to the same period last year, reaching about 2.29 million rubles.
Experts agree that this year it will be possible to sell no more than 500-700 new cars. Prices have risen, the purchasing power of the population has fallen.
Expert opinion
Maxim Kadakovyeditor-in-chief of the magazine “Behind the wheel”
– We must prepare for the fact that the choice will expand in the near future, as they will actively import various cars that we have not seen before. Major dealers are already trying to import cars in alternative ways, all kinds of Volkswagens from the Chinese market, Mazda, Mitsubishi, also from the Chinese market. That is, traditional Chinese cars are mixed with cars that we didn’t know: these are new Chinese bands and models produced by joint ventures and only cars from alien companies from China itself.
In this sense, the choice will expand, many different models and modifications will appear, the market will become more “furry”.
But in general, as it sounds paradoxical, the market will shrink, as the total number of cars offered will decrease. And when buying specific cars that are imported in relatively small quantities, no more than 1,000 a year, you will still have to puzzle over how to maintain and repair them.
Therefore, in my opinion, 2023 will not be easy for trading companies, dealers and importers – they will have to figure out how to live and where to go. Everyone will try to import something – one, the second, the third – it worked, it didn’t work. Directions, segments, specific models that fit better, crystallize out. And on this basis, some larger currents will be formed.
Source: Z R
