Recycling for stimulation: Truck owners offered support measures
More than half of trucks in Russia meet the exhaust standards of 20 years ago. At the same time, the average age of trucks is only growing. To upgrade the fleet of heavy trucks, the United Leasing Association proposes to differentiate the transport tax for trucks depending on their environmental class, as well as launch a program for the disposal of commercial vehicles. Experts have mixed opinions about these proposals. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Smoking "oldies"
More than half (54%) Heavy trucks in Russia comply with Euro-3 and lower environmental standards, which were abolished in the EU in 2006, and in our country since 2013. This was stated by Sergey Udalov, Executive Director of the Autostat analytical agency, at a conference within the framework of the Comvex-2025 exhibition in Moscow. The number of such machines in Russia exceeds 1.04 million units, he said. Among buses, 48% of vehicles (129 thousand) meet Euro-3 standards and below, and their share in the segment of light commercial vehicles is 30% (about 355 thousand).
Autostat notes that cargo equipment in Russia is rapidly aging. For example, if in 2015 the average age of a truck in our country was 18.9 years, now it is already approaching 23 years. Against the background of a sharp increase in sales of these vehicles in 2022-2023, the trend slowed down somewhat, but then the average age of commercial vehicles continued to grow.
The large volume of return of leased trucks also does not contribute to the renewal of the fleet. Recently, the trend towards the forced or voluntary withdrawal of such equipment from carriers has noticeably intensified. If at the end of last year there were about 17 thousand returned trucks on the sites of leasing companies, now this figure, according to various sources, is 25-30 thousand units of commercial equipment. This is about a quarter of all new heavy trucks sold in Russia last year.
Economic measures
The high average age of commercial vehicles is not only an issue of ecology, but also of road safety, Alexander Nikolaenko, Deputy Head of the United Leasing Association (OLA) Committee on Auto Leasing and Special Equipment, said during the conference. The Russian truck fleet needs urgent updating, he noted.
"These should not be prohibitive measures, but primarily economic incentives,— Nikolaenko stressed.
As one such measure, he proposed to introduce a differentiated transport tax for trucks, which would take into account not only the engine power, but also the environmental class of the car. According to Alexander Nikolaenko, for models equipped with modern engines, the current tax rates may remain at the same level or even decrease slightly. But for cars with "dirty" engines, they can be increased, he believes.
At the same time, OLA is taking the initiative to introduce a kind of "green" zones, where it will be prohibited to enter non-ecological vehicles. It is assumed that these may be certain sections of trails, as well as some localities. At the suggestion of the association, such restrictions can be introduced for Euro-0 class vehicles from 2027 and until 2030 they will be expanded every year to the next ecological class of the car up to Euro-3. And starting in 2035, the ban may also apply to Euro-4 class trucks.
Another proposal from OLA concerns the introduction of a recycling program for old trucks, similar to the one that operated in the late 2000s for passenger cars.
— This program, which provides a discount on the purchase of a new domestic car in exchange for an old car that has been scrapped, has proved to be an effective mechanism for updating the fleet of passenger cars. A similar measure for trucks will allow, on the one hand, to upgrade the fleet, and on the other hand, it will ensure demand for trucks," Alexander Nikolaenko noted.
The press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia that "if specific proposals on this initiative are received, the agency will consider them in accordance with the established procedure, taking into account the current budget possibilities."
The direction is right, the paths are wrong
The experts interviewed by Izvestia reacted ambiguously to OLA's initiatives. The very idea of forcing carriers to upgrade their fleet with economic incentive measures is correct, but the proposed directions are erroneous, according to Taras Koval, vice president of the Association of Transport Experts and Specialists.
A factory for the production of truck bodies by a company in the city of Kropotkin, Krasnodar Territory
— The problem of the aging truck fleet needs to be solved at the federal level, and the transport tax is regional, so its differentiation will not have a special effect. The recycling program for passenger cars, where when an old car was scrapped, a person received a discount of 50 thousand rubles for the purchase of a new one, was also effective. At that time, it was a decent amount, especially considering the price of cars 10 years ago. But for trucks that currently cost several million rubles, if the discount is 200-300 or even 500 thousand rubles, it is almost imperceptible, especially now that the trading platforms are packed to capacity with commercial equipment, you can easily get such a discount from the seller without any program," Taras Koval told Izvestia.
He believes that differentiation based on the environmental friendliness of the exhaust would have a much greater effect, not on the transport tax, but on the tariffs for Platon. The German Toll Collect truck fare system works according to this principle, which is recognized by many experts in the field of transport and logistics as almost a reference, the expert noted.
Where can I get the money?
The proposed truck recycling program may be in demand from large carriers with large fleets, Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, notes. However, it is unlikely to be relevant for medium and small companies, he believes.
— A discount is, of course, good. But all the same, you need to get money from somewhere to buy new equipment. Let's say it will be 500 thousand rubles. But if the car initially costs 10 million, then you still have to pay 9.5 million. Loans and leasing are currently unaffordable for the vast majority, and equipment is being actively returned to lessors. I doubt that the proposed recycling program will have a noticeable impact on the condition of the fleet," Maxim Kadakov believes.
If several tens of thousands of trucks have been returned to leasing companies, but there has been no collapse in the freight market, it means that such a large amount of transport is not required in this area of the economy at the moment, the editor—in-chief of Za Rulem notes. As soon as the demand for transportation goes up and logistics companies see potential profits, they will upgrade their fleet without any programs or instructions from above, he believes. In the meantime, this is not the case, they will carry out orders on old KAMAZ trucks and ZILs, Maxim Kadakov notes.
Vladimir Matyagin, President of the Gruzavtotrans Association, shares a similar point of view. Currently, most carriers are struggling to make ends meet due to low tariffs along with high fines, expensive spare parts and fuel, he notes. For them, the issue of updating the fleet against the background of exorbitant credit lease payments is not worth it at all, the expert emphasizes.
— No carrier will get into debt bondage with high monthly payments until there is adequate pricing for freight tariffs and the ability to calculate profitability in advance. He would rather constantly patch up his 20-year—old KAMAZ, fulfilling orders as much as possible, than give even a meager profit to repay a loan or lease," Vladimir Matyagin told Izvestia.
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