Dealers asked to ban online car sales without intermediaries

The Russian Automobile Dealers Association (ROAD) has appealed to the Federal Antimonopoly Service with a proposal to ban direct online sales of cars by distributors and manufacturers. This was reported on June 2 by Vedomosti with reference to a letter from Alexey Podshchekoldin, President of the ROAD, addressed to Maxim Shaskolsky, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

The restrictions are proposed to be included in the upcoming national competition development plan for 2026-2030. As an alternative to a complete ban, it is possible to remove the mention of manufacturers and distributors from the current version of the plan. Thus, the norm of a 5% share of online sales will apply to all market participants, according to the ROAD.

Dealers argue for the initiative to protect consumers and maintain competition in the retail industry. They note that they have the capabilities to repair and service cars, which, as a rule, manufacturers and distributors do not have.

The ROAD believes that direct online sales can lead to infringement of the rights and interests of dealers, and the imposition of obviously unfavorable terms of cooperation on them. Their concerns include the supply of illiquid machines, price fixing, territorial division of the market, and the forced introduction of agency schemes for interaction with manufacturers and distributors.

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