The expert spoke about the impossibility of banning right-hand drive cars in the Russian Federation.

Currently, there is no ban on the operation of right-hand drive cars in Russia, since they are massively used by Russians. This was stated by the director of the analytical agency "Autostat" Sergey Tselikov on September 3.

"The entire Far East rides on the right hand drive: About 90% of the region's residents use such cars, and a ban on such vehicles could lead to a real collapse and an increase in social tension," Tselikov was quoted as saying by TASS on September 3.

It is difficult to find an alternative to used Japanese cars in the Far Eastern region, especially when it comes to price, the expert pointed out. Currently, cars aged five to seven years old are mainly imported there, which cost customers about 1.2 to 1.5 million rubles and can serve on Russian roads for another 10-15 years without problems, the analyst noted.

Right hand drive: used car imports in the Far East are breaking records

Import of cars from Japan and South Korea increased by one and a half times

Earlier, on August 26, it was reported that Vladivostok customs had set a record for importing cars for personal use. In July, 33.1 thousand cars were registered through it, which is almost 1.5 times more than last year's record set in July (26.1 thousand units).

In just seven months of 2025, Vladivostok customs officers issued more than 172 thousand vehicles for individuals. This is a 16% increase compared to the same period last year.

Prior to that, on August 20, it became known that in July of this year, the supply of passenger cars from Japan to Russia decreased by 19.2% compared to the same period last year. In addition, Japan has also reduced the supply of spare parts and components to Russia by 75%.

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