How did the king leave?
In March 2022, Mercedes-Benz froze its operations in Russia and stopped taking orders for new cars. At the same time, the Esipovo plant (in operation since spring 2019) was frozen.
And on October 26, it became known that Mercedes-Benz plans to exit the Russian market and sell its shares in local subsidiaries. The factory, in particular, is under the control of Avtodom Group of Companies – Andrey Olkhovsky, the general manager of the group of companies, last year expressed plans to become a manufacturing company.
How the prices have changed
In the pre-crisis 2013, a Mercedes-Benz S-class (S500) in the back of the W221 could be bought for 4.7 million rubles. In 2015, the Russian price list for the S-class in the back of the W222 already started at 5.55 million rubles (for the 333 hp S 400 L).
At the end of 2020, the Mercedes-Benz representative office in Russia announced the price list for the new S-class (W223), the cheapest of which (S 350d 4Matic) was estimated at 11.12 million rubles. After all, cars in Russia have repeatedly increased in price. In February 2022, Mercedes-Benz prices shot up by 20%. The most “affordable” representative of the S-class, the Mercedes-Benz S 350d 4Matic in the Business configuration, then cost 13,620,000 rubles. Top S 580 4Matic Luxe – 19,250,000 rubles.
A 6-liter 612 hp S680 4Matic Maybach stood separately for 34,130,000 rubles – the price of a three-room apartment in the center of Moscow. Now you can only buy a used Maybach for this price.
Absolutely new today, with zeros on the counter, there are no S-class Mercedes on the market. Prices in Moscow for 2022 copies (with mileage) – from 12.5 to 44 million rubles.
Expert opinion
Rustam Nazarov, director of the sales department of Gazprombank Autoleasing:
— This year there has been a real redistribution in the Russian car market. If in February about 30 brands were presented in the most mass-produced passenger segment, there are now barely a dozen – the rest have completely stopped their activities, curtailed local production or took a wait-and-see attitude, suspending car deliveries and car kits. As a result, three Chinese brands are already in the top 5 in terms of sales and the former frontrunners are quickly losing positions.
Market prices have been rising rapidly over the past 2-3 years. The reasons are different – from affordable loans to a shortage of equipment. According to the Avtostat agency, the average cost of a new car for 8 months of 2022 was almost 2.3 million rubles, which is 22% more than a year earlier. For this reason, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has increased the maximum limit for models participating in the program of preferential car loans and leasing to 2 million rubles. And auto insurers lobbied for further expansion of the rate corridor for OSAGO policies.
What do you get in return?
The Russian car market has completely changed and it is still very feverish, so it is difficult for everyone.
- At the end of the summer, almost 5 million were asked for the most complete “official” Toyota Camry. But Toyota also “freezes” business in Russia, and dealers begin to offer Camry imported from the UAE and Japan at a price of 4.5 million rubles. Even at such prices, the car is in high demand, so there are both sellers and buyers in all cities of the country. There are quite a few such options on the market. In Moscow – about a hundred proposals. But import, as you understand, is “gray”, and Camry, with all due respect, is not premium.
- From the premium you can still find new E-class – ordered, but not redeemed. For example, Mercedes-Benz E200 4matic AMG SPORT. All-wheel drive, 2 liter engine of 197 hp, G-Tronic with 9 gears. White color. But in this case, you have to close your eyes to run 17 km. The price is 5.2 million. The rest of the Mercedes E-class still on the market has symbolic runs as well. They are mainly sold in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
- Offered at the same mileage (17 km) Lexus ES250 (200 hp 2.5 engine, 8-speed automatic transmission, front-wheel drive). The car was bought from a Lexus dealer in Kazakhstan and taken to Moscow by car transporter. The price is 5.15 million. However, this isn’t the only ES on sale. There are a dozen more in the capital and regions.
- Audi A4 Sport 40 TFSI S tronic with a 190 hp 2.0, a robot, front-wheel drive and no run, the Moscow Audi dealership offers 4,997,520 rubles. A6 will cost a whopping 5.3 million – and also imported from abroad (with low mileage, of course).
- Diesel engines are offered for 5.3 – 5.5 million BMW 5 Series with a base 2-litre 190 horsepower engine and Xdrive four-wheel drive. There are also dozens of such cars in the capital.
- Several suggestions for Volvo. Typical variant – S90 with a 2-litre engine producing 249 hp, front-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic transmission. Mileage – 5700 km. But the car will have to go to Stavropol. However, he is not the only one.
- For a price of about 5 million rubles (give or take) you will find Genesis G70 (four-wheel drive sedan with 247 hp 2-litre petrol engine), G80 (but 2021) and some exotic options like electric cars Tesla Model 3 with minimum mileage or BYD HanEV. By the way, this is an interesting car, worth a separate story.
Expert opinion
Dmitry Kudryavtsev, Deputy Risk Director, Alfa-Leasing Group:
— Unfortunately, the probability that the Mercedes-Benz S-class will cost 5 million rubles is negligible. Not so long ago, Russia had a rich car market. And now it’s time to understand the merits of China’s auto industry. This is the new reality for the coming years.
And the new car prices we see at dealerships are our new reality. If you want a new car, you must be prepared to overpay. Relying on the dollar or euro exchange rate makes no sense, as there are only a limited number of new cars, this is a scarce commodity. Buying a car with mileage or imported under gray schemes is a compromise.
Looking for a compromise or paying? Here’s the key question of 2022.
What’s next?
They say that the owner of a Mercedes-Benz S-class is willing to trade in his car only for another S-class, newer. But now this formula doesn’t work. Even if the buyer is ready, there is nothing to buy.
The Russian market has been going through “contraction and contraction” in recent years (and especially last year) and has risen in price. So now, with 5 million rubles, you can not buy an S-class, but only an E, moreover, from unsold copies, and albeit with little, but with kilometers. Although this is a minor issue if any.
But what can become a real problem over time is the maintenance of such cars. They require high-quality spare parts, high-quality oils and technical fluids, skilled craftsmen, special equipment and new dealer software that needs to be updated from time to time. And the supply channels are blocked.
Expert opinion
Anna Utkina (press service of Avtodom Group of Companies:
– Against the background of the geopolitical situation, some foreign car manufacturers announced the suspension of activities in Russia. Their market shares are planned to be taken by manufacturers from China, Japan, Iran, etc.
Moreover, since the end of September parallel imports have made it possible to supply certified cars and parts via the UAE, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, etc. For example, new cars from the Jaguar and Land Rover brands have become available to customers.
When we talk about car prices, they largely depend on the exchange rate. The price level in the new car market remains high. Car owners will not be able to feel the impact of measures to stabilize the situation until March 2023.
So perhaps it is now worth giving up the old ideals (at least in the automotive world) and paying attention to the novelties of the market. There are already many, and there will be many more.
In Chinese, the word crisis (Weiji) is made up of two characters. The first means “dangerous time”, and the second – “time of opportunity, opportunity.”
How to serve?
“At the moment, official dealers are not experiencing any problems accessing the car maintenance software,” the Avtodom Group of Companies press office told Za Rulem’s correspondent. – To ensure that drivers receive timely updates for their cars, a number of manufacturers have already announced plans to update software via cloud services. In addition, it will be possible to update the software regardless of the engine type. The global trend is for vehicles equipped with advanced telecommunications features to give owners access to software subscriptions.”
Expert Commentary
Roman Timashov, Service Director of the multi-brand dealer Avtodom Altufievo:
“Some electric vehicle manufacturers are already building in a data communication module. Such a car can be connected to a WiFi network. Businesses use remote updates to continuously improve their autonomous driving systems so that the owner does not have to visit the service regularly.
- BMW has a mobile application that works with vehicles produced after 2018 with BMW Operating System 7, 8 installed. The owner of such a BMW only needs to download the update on his smartphone and then connect to the car via a WiFi network. The file is automatically recognized and the vehicle’s on-board system prompts you to install the update.
- Porsche has the update available for the electric Taycan, but models for 2019-2021 must first visit an official dealer to manually install the OTA-enabled update.
- Genesis supports updates for the G90 premium sedan and the GV60 electric crossover.
- Audi, Skoda, Volkswagen are updating their electric cars remotely. At Volvo, the system is supported by the hybrid XC40, XC60, S90. In all cases, the built-in modem is used for updating.
“Behind the wheel” can also be read in Telegram.
Counted premium and non-premium sedans. The list is short.
Source: Z R
