New restrictions for imports of right-wheel engines to Russia became effective July 1. Completely barred from import are machines of the M2 and M3 class – trucks, buses, LCVs and construction machines.
On top of this, the procedure of Custom’s clearance of right-wheel passenger cars became more complicated. The owner of such car should obtain technical certificate, confirming compliance of car design to the safety requirement.
According to the Federal Customs Service, the amount of payments will depend on ecological class, production date, engine volume and other parameters. This will include processing fee, custom’s tax and utilization fee. Read The Article
PSR Analysis: The main source of right-wheel vehicles to Russia has been Japan, and there were many businesses importing used vehicles to Russia. One of the consequences of the new restriction is reduction in prices of used cars in Japan by more than 40% (June 2020).
At the same time, the Russian market will not be affected seriously by the restrictions, because actual imports have been significantly reduced by earlier measures (higher taxes).
Right-wheel machines are concentrated in Eastern regions of Russia. For passenger cars, the total fleet share of such vehicles is about 7%, for trucks, 3.3%, for buses , 0.6% and about 12% for LCVs. These measures are protectionist measures, and the final goal is to reduce the share of right-wheel vehicles to zero in the Russian market. PSR
Maxim Sakov is Market Consultant, Russia, for Power Systems Research
