The State Duma proposed to introduce a quota for taxi drivers on unsuitable cars

The State Duma proposed to provide a quota of 25% of the total number of entries in the regional taxi registry for individuals whose cars do not meet localization requirements. The bill was submitted to the lower house of Parliament on October 30.

It is assumed that the quota allowing self-employed taxi drivers to work on cars that do not meet localization requirements will be valid until January 1, 2033. Taxi drivers will be required to own the car for at least 6 months.

"Such a mechanism will make it possible to adapt the requirements of the law on the localization of cars in taxis to current realities, ensuring the gradual renewal of the fleet of domestic cars and reducing the risks of drivers going into the shadows and, as a result, saving tax revenues totaling about 76.2 billion rubles over the three forecast years (according to the HSE)," the explanatory note says.

The implementation of the initiative helps to reduce the risk of displacement from the industry of a significant number of self-employed carriers, for whom the purchase of vehicles corresponding to the established degree of localization may be economically impractical, the authors of the document said.

It is noted that as of July 2025, the FGIS Taxi registry contains information on 162.5 thousand entries of carriers with the status of self-employed, many of them already use Russian cars as taxis. Thus, the bill does not violate the logic of localization, but encourages a gradual transition to the use of cars manufactured in Russia, the deputies said.

Steering wheel rule: almost 100 thousand taxi cars will not be able to be replaced due to the localization law

The lack of relaxation may lead to the departure of passenger traffic to the gray zone, experts say.

On October 1, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation published a primary list of cars that meet the requirements of the law on taxi localization, which will be operational from March 2026. It includes models of Lada, UAZ, Sollers, Moskvich, Evolute and Voyah brands. Later, the ministry clarified that the list is planned to be expanded, including models under the Haval and Tenet brands, as well as cars manufactured at Kaliningrad Avtotor.

On October 28, it was reported that the Moscow government in 2025 will allocate 450 million rubles for the development of taxis and carsharing. The funds will be used to upgrade the fleet.

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