A stranger among his own: the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs discussed the requirements for taxi cars

Members of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), social activists, representatives of Russian car factories, taxi companies, and taxi aggregators discussed the prospects for localization of cars with "checkers" on board. The participants of the round table agreed that the requirements for such cars should be reasonable and take into account the interests of all parties: automakers, taxi drivers and passengers. Otherwise, some carriers may go into the shadow business, and the cost of trips will increase significantly. The details are in the Izvestia article.

Balance of interests

When introducing requirements regarding the localization of taxi cars, the interests of all market participants must be taken into account. This was stated by the President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, at a round table dedicated to the development of the taxi industry. He recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had said the same thing at the end.

According to the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, it takes time to develop optimal solutions. Therefore, he considers it necessary to postpone the introduction of requirements for the localization of taxi cars.

— One of the possible options is to postpone the introduction of these requirements from October 1, 2025 for a year. This will provide an opportunity to prepare options that would take into account the interests of all parties," said Alexander Shokhin.

At the same time, he stressed that "honest localization" is needed, implying real import substitution and technological sovereignty.

— At the certification, you can show a domestic chip, and then use a Chinese one for a long time. This should not happen," said the President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

The bar of 3,200 points for localization, which is now offered as an "entrance ticket" for taxi cars, is excessive, Shokhin believes. According to him, "only four AvtoVAZ models" currently fall under these requirements. Other automakers in Russia have this level so far "no more than 1.5-2 thousand points," said the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. Alexander Shokhin stressed that these parameters can and should also be discussed.

Competition is needed

Taxis as a part of public transport should be an import-substituting industry, Sergey Gromak, Vice President of AVTOVAZ, is convinced. At the same time, the introduction of localization requirements should not lead to the emergence of a monopoly position of any automakers in this market, he stressed.

— For us, such a monopoly would only be harmful. Taxi localization requirements should be reasonable, feasible, and provide taxi drivers with a choice," said Sergey Gromak. At the same time, the law on taxi localization should not be retroactive and apply only to newly purchased cars, he added.

Ivan Dushkin, Deputy General Director for Legal Affairs of Havale Motor Manufacturing Rus LLC, adheres to a similar position. He also considers the monopolization of the taxi market by 1-2 manufacturers unacceptable. At the same time, in his opinion, the requirements for the "entrance ticket" need to be discussed.

— It is impossible to achieve a high level of localization simultaneously. Therefore, the points for taxi cars should be approached carefully," he said.

Ivan Dushkin supported Alexander Shokhin's proposal to postpone the introduction of requirements for the localization of taxi cars to 2026, stressing that even in this case, they "will be difficult to fulfill." He considers it necessary not to extend localization requirements to models whose analogues are not manufactured in our country.

The support of national automakers by purchasing localized models in taxis is not a new measure, it is a common global practice, Denis Pak, President of Avtotor—Holding LLC, said at the round table. At the same time, he also stressed that the requirements for the localization of cars need to be discussed.

"Localization cannot be achieved in one day," he said.

Taxi drivers will go into the shadows

Self-employed drivers who work in private cars may suffer the most from the introduction of requirements for the localization of taxi cars, Maxim Shusharin, director of the Maxim taxi ordering service, believes. According to him, they will not specifically change cars to comply with the new rules. As a result, such taxi drivers will either leave the market or move to the "gray" and "black" areas, he believes. According to Maxim Shusharin, this will affect the regions of Siberia and the Far East the most, where the share of self-employed in the taxi industry reaches 90-100%.

— We can already see that approximately 10.5 million trips are made through chats in TG channels. This is the very "gray zone" of taxis that self—employed drivers can enter," he noted.

To avoid such a development, Maxim Shusharin considers it necessary to remove self-employed drivers from the requirements for localization of taxi cars.

Irina Zaripova, Chairman of the Public Council for Taxi Development, agrees with him. She also believes that the risk of self-employed taxi drivers going "into the shadows" or even leaving the passenger transportation market is quite high. In her opinion, this could increase the already noticeable shortage of taxi drivers.

— Currently, the industry lacks about 35% of drivers. If this indicator continues to grow, it will eventually affect consumers, since due to the lack of drivers on the line, waiting time for cars will increase, as well as the cost of travel," Irina Zaripova said.

Regional powers

According to Ilya Zotov, Chairman of the All-Russian Association of Passengers and Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, the regions should play a key role in determining the requirements for taxi cars.

— The situation with taxis is different in each region of the federation, and local authorities see the picture and needs better. Therefore, they should determine the share of localized vehicles in regional carriers. In addition, different regions have different opportunities to support both taxi carriers and car manufacturers," he stressed.

The drastic introduction of localization requirements in the current conditions may not cover all taxi needs in certain models and classes of cars, says Sergey Alekseuk, head of the Taxi Transportation Development Department of the Moscow Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development. In his opinion, due to the shortage of cars of one class or another, carriers may move into the field of custom transportation, thus getting out of the scope of the law "On taxis". He also believes that regional authorities should be given more authority to determine specific requirements for cars with "checkers".

— We have developed our vision of the localization level of taxi cars by regions. These proposals have found support in the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation," he said.

The market will decide everything

The chairman of the Public Council for Taxi Development said that, according to surveys of taxi companies, 66% of market participants had already purchased domestic-made cars last year, even without mandatory requirements for the Russian origin of the cars. Anton Shaparin, Vice President of the National Automobile Union, sees no particular need to introduce localization requirements for taxi vehicles.

— We have not yet fully felt the effect of the autumn and January increase in recycling. After it is fully manifested soon, the question of the need to localize taxi cars will disappear by itself. Foreign—made models will become much more expensive than Russian ones, so it is obvious that fleets will make a choice towards domestic cars without any coercion," Anton Shaparin is sure.

A child's question

Along with the problems of localizing taxi cars, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs also discussed the prospects for stimulating transportation for families with children. In air travel and rail travel, the issue of preferential travel for large families has been resolved, Ilya Zotov noted. He believes that the automotive industry needs to launch a state program for the production of family cars, and trips for large families should be subsidized from the budget.

Sergey Gromak, Vice President of AVTOVAZ, agreed that there are no domestic family cars. He said that the company is currently developing a family minivan designed for 5-7 seats, depending on the layout.

"We plan to release this car in 2027," he added. — The total investment in this project is 21 billion rubles.

Maxim Shusharin proposed to encourage the self-employed to transport large families. Such drivers often have families, and they work in private cars. In some cases, these drivers have child seats, and they can choose a minivan as their car, which will simplify the trip for a large family.

"The child safety seat makes the driver feel uncomfortable," he said. — Currently, large families can only be transferred by a "private citizen" in a private car, because minivans in taxi companies are rather an exception to the rule, he stressed.

The children's tariff appeared on aggregators in Russia in 2017, Anton Petrakov, Director of Corporate Relations and Government Relations at Yandex Taxi, recalled. To work with children, drivers must be trained to communicate with young passengers, in addition, they must be visited by taxi drivers with the highest rating available, he said. Currently, child fares are available in 170 Russian cities, and starting in March this year, child transportation will be expanded to small towns in the country, he stressed.

— Now there are no taxis that could accommodate a large family, — Anton Petrakov noted. — These cars are more likely to fit the definition of registered transportation than taxis. Together with the regions and the Ministry of Transport, we are discussing the launch of a pilot project, in which a line will be allocated for large families, calling which you can order a taxi.

Pick-up time will be longer than that of a regular taxi, but this is due to the small number of cars. If successful, the project will be widely used in other regions. The prices for children's tariffs are higher than the standard ones due to several factors, Anton Petrakov noted.

— The amount depends on the availability of a suitable car nearby, cars that can transport children, about 20% of the total number of taxis. In addition, many drivers refuse such trips, but if you call a car with a personal child safety seat, the cost will not increase," explained the representative of Yandex Taxi

Representatives of the aggregators suggested supporting drivers who transport children with subsidies, as well as encouraging other taxi drivers to equip their cars with child seats.