Stop on the road: controversial draft law on taxi localization to be finalized
The draft law providing for the mandatory transfer of taxi companies to cars of Russian manufacturers will be finalized, Izvestia found out. The current edition was opposed by the state Legal Department of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation - the corresponding letter from the GPU to the State Duma Committee on Transport is at the disposal of the publication. The department believes that the draft law needs additional discussion with interested structures, because the expert management of the President of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Delovaya Rossiya and the FSB have comments and suggestions on it. What claims the authorities have and why the industry communities are categorically opposed to this initiative can be found in the Izvestia article.
Localization of taxi cars requires discussion
The draft law introducing requirements for the localization of cars for taxi companies needs additional discussion "with the participation of representatives of interested structures," according to a letter from the State Legal Department of the President of Russia. It was sent to the developer of the amendments, the State Duma Committee on Transport and Transport Infrastructure Development. The document is at the disposal of Izvestia.
Amendments to the law "On the organization of passenger and Baggage transportation by passenger taxi" were approved in the first reading on January 18, 2024. According to them, starting from October 1, 2025, cars for passenger transportation are allowed to be purchased only by domestic companies — they must be produced by Russian concerns, the degree of localization of car elements must be high, and a points system is being introduced to evaluate it.
When the draft law was adopted in the first reading, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin noted that the changes would support the domestic automotive industry and create additional conditions for its development and the emergence of new jobs.
The approval of the bill caused a huge public outcry. The introduction of requirements for the localization of taxi cars may lead to the withdrawal of a significant number of taxi drivers from the market and an increase in tariffs, Ilya Zotov, chairman of the All-Russian Association of Passengers, Deputy chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Transport, said, in particular, at a press conference in Izvestia.
— There are about half a million self-employed people in Russia who work on their own cars. These are not always models of domestic automakers," he said.
The existence of different opinions was also pointed out in the GPU. "The draft law as presented has been agreed upon by the Russian Ministry of Transport, the Moscow government and the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure of the Moscow Region," the department's letter says. — At the same time, there are comments and suggestions on the draft law from the Expert Office of the President of the Russian Federation, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) and the All-Russian Public Organization Delovaya Rossiya.
In March 2025, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs held a round table, the participants of which noted the need for further study of taxi localization issues, taking into account the interests of all market participants, including drivers and passengers.
"The experts stressed the importance of a gradual approach to localization in order to maintain a balance in the market, as well as the availability and quality of services for residents," the union's press service said. And the president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, stated the need to work out "a consistent way to achieve the level of localization that will meet the requirements" and called for finding a "reasonable compromise" — to postpone the deadline for introducing changes from October 1, 2025 to October 1, 2026.
The GPU separately reported on the claims to the document from the law enforcement agencies. In particular, they considered it excessive and unreasonable to create an information system for recording information about vehicle models that meet the requirements of a car used as a passenger taxi. This item is in the bill. Instead, it is proposed to create just a list of vehicle models.
The State Legal Department noted that the discussion of the bill should be held at the site of the State Duma Committee on Transport.
Izvestia sent a request to the presidential administration asking for clarification of the GPU's position, as well as to the Duma committee asking when and how the discussion would be held.
New requests
The adoption of a law on the localization of vehicles in passenger transport is possible only after comfortable and reliable cars appear on the assembly lines of Russian car factories, according to a letter from the Digital World Digital Platform Users Union. In March 2025, it was sent to the government and domestic automakers.
In addition, in April, the same union sent an appeal to the GPU of the presidential Administration and the Constitutional Court (Izvestia has it).
"The current version of the bill contradicts the norms of antimonopoly legislation, as it violates the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition", which prohibits the creation of discriminatory conditions for individual market participants," the appeal says. "We also consider legally questionable the very possibility of the state ordering private businesses to buy only localized means of production in the proposed form."
The letter states that the document "protects the interests of only automakers, ignoring the interests of others, and the most important stakeholders in the taxi industry — drivers and passengers."
The authors of the appeal believe that the restrictions will lead to the withdrawal of up to 70% of drivers from the legal field, which will cause a further rise in the price of these services and social discontent.
Yana Osipova, a member of the Executive Committee of the Tatarstan Regional Branch of the Russian Bar Association, director of the Legal Link law firm, agreed that the amendments in their current form violate antimonopoly legislation.
"In particular, discriminatory conditions are being created for this area of business activity — access to the market is practically becoming impossible," she said. — The state has no right to use levers to restrict market participants in the use of various means, this would contradict the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
She recalled that article 34 of the Constitution states that "everyone has the right to freely use their abilities and property for entrepreneurial and other economic activities not prohibited by law."
According to Yana Osipova, the adoption of the bill in its current form will negatively affect the taxi industry, as it will lead to an increase in prices for cars that fit the appropriate category. And the displacement of self-employed drivers from the legal sphere, who will not have the opportunity to purchase new vehicles, will lead to the formation of a "shadow" business.
Nikolai Kodolov, chairman of the Dobro taxi trade union, told Izvestia that he was also preparing appeals "to a number of authorities." He noted that so far Russian cars "are lagging behind competitors in terms of reliability, comfort and technical support." Moreover, their cost is too high.
— Using these cars in taxis does not provide comfort and safety to passengers, and businesses using them are doomed to increased costs in connection with the operation of such a fleet. This will lead to higher prices and a significant drop in the quality of services," he said.
He agreed that before introducing localization requirements, it is necessary to create special vehicles designed for systematic passenger transportation, as well as develop safety and comfort standards.
"It will take at least 5-8 years, and we still need to keep up with the rest of the world in order not to produce a car that lags behind the leaders of the global automotive industry," said Nikolai Kodolov. — Investments in such a project will be very significant, which means that with this approach, taxis are likely to become non-daily services.
Irina Zaripova, Chairman of the Public Council for Taxi Development, recalled that in developed countries there is no ban on the use of foreign cars in commercial transportation.
— The main focus is not on the origin of the machine, but on its safety, technical condition and compliance with modern environmental requirements. Support for national producers there is more often stimulating — through subsidies, tax breaks or fleet renewal programs, rather than through bans," the expert said.
She agreed that there is not enough choice of cars on the Russian market that would be suitable for intensive taxi work. In particular, the issue of business class cars is acute: domestic models, according to her, are designed mainly for personal rather than commercial use.
Maxim Taxi also noted that "by imposing only certain cars on businesses, the legislator imposes a ban on businesses' independent choice of means of production."
"Limiting the choice will definitely not lead to the achievement of technological sovereignty of the domestic automotive industry. But it will lead to the development of shadow haulage, formal reports on the minimum number of domestic cars purchased, bankruptcy of transport companies, and dissatisfaction among Russian citizens with the quality of taxi services," the company believes.
At the same time, the idea of localization is strategically justified, but its implementation in the draft law does not take into account important factors, the company believes. They explained that the main vehicle fleet renewal tool is leasing. And since this opportunity is available only to legal entities, the localization rule can only apply to taxi companies. For individuals, that is, the self-employed, a product such as leasing is not available.
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