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- Steering wheel rule: almost 100 thousand taxi cars will not be able to be replaced due to the localization law
Steering wheel rule: almost 100 thousand taxi cars will not be able to be replaced due to the localization law
A transitional period should be introduced for taxi cars before the law on localization comes into force in March 2026. Such requests were sent to the government, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Central Bank and other government agencies, the National Taxi Council and the Leasing Union. According to their calculations, almost 100 thousand leased vehicles will not be able to be re-registered after the end of its term, as they will not comply with the requirements of the localization law. Experts interviewed by Izvestia believe that without a transition period, the sale of foreign cars to the market at very low prices may begin, which will negatively affect interest in Russian-made cars.
The transition period
The National Taxi Council Association and the Leasing Union have asked to create a transition period for taxi companies that have concluded leasing agreements before the amendments to the law on taxi localization in Russia came into force on March 1, 2026.
"The industry operates more than 97 thousand vehicles, whose lease terms will come to an end after March 1, 2026. If we follow the letter of the localization law in the current version, then reissue without re—registration will be available only for several models of the automaker that meet the new requirement," the letter from the Leasing Union says. "In fact, all cars leased by taxi companies in the period from 2022 to 2025 are in the risk and uncertainty zone."
The National Taxi Council (NST) added that, according to federal law, when the owner changes, the car is excluded from the register of passenger taxis and must be included again at the request of the new owner.
"For many carriers, the lease agreement ends after March 1, 2026, which means a change of ownership and automatic exclusion of the vehicle from the register, but at the same time the impossibility of including it again as not meeting the new localization requirements," the association's letter says.
Currently, according to the NST, the bulk of the fleet is made up of European-made cars, previously assembled in Russia, and Chinese-made, imported and Russian-assembled. The main form of purchasing vehicles for taxi companies is leasing. As indicated in the NST, they are used in 72% of companies. The Maxim taxi ordering service confirmed to Izvestia that the taxi companies they work with have about 90% of their cars leased.
"Since a significant part of the fleet is leased, the Association draws the attention of the government and the Ministry of Finance to the fact that, in the current version of the federal law, all taxi companies that purchased cars under leasing agreements are at risk. We are not demanding the cancellation of localization requirements, but we are talking about a fair transition period," the document says.
Organizations propose to keep cars that were purchased before March 1, 2026 in the taxi registry. They sent such appeals to the government, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the State Duma. Izvestia asked the agencies to confirm receipt of requests from the Leasing Union and the National Taxi Council. The Central Bank confirmed receipt of the letter from the National Bank of Ukraine.
The Maxim service added that the vast majority — 80% — of cars are owned by their partners of foreign brands. According to the council's calculations, the current financial situation will allow for the renewal of less than 10% of the fleet during 2025.
The organizations are confident that, in the current version, the federal law "On Taxis" jeopardizes all taxi companies that purchased cars under leasing agreements.
Industry position
In the absence of relief, imported cars will become useless, Evgeny Tsarev, director of the Leasing Union, told Izvestia.
— In order not to damage the business, you need to set the service life of the taxi car. For example, five or seven years. We need to allow people to drive leased cars before the law on taxi localization comes into force without re—registering them," he added.
The initiative to introduce a transition period for taxi cars after the entry into force of the law on their localization was also supported by the chairman of the Union of Users of the Digital World Platforms, Valery Korneev.
—Although, of course, in this case, the car's wear and tear may raise questions in terms of its continued safe operation," he told Izvestia.
Anton Shaparin, Vice President of the National Automobile Union, is confident that not all fleets will switch to cars from the list, many will simply leave the passenger transportation market.
— The self-employed, who earn extra money in taxis, will not buy cars from the list, they will simply go to the "bombs," the expert believes. — A huge industry with a million employees will begin to fade into the shadows, which will hit budget revenues. According to the Higher School of Economics, the budget will lose 350 billion rubles in three years after these strict rules come into force.
After the law on taxi localization comes into force, a significant amount of cars at a low price will be on the market — this factor will reduce the demand for products from Russian car factories, Anton Shaparin is convinced.
Self-employed drivers are not included in any subsidy or leasing programs that are available to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, said Ivan Litvinov, head of the Association of the Self-Employed in Russia. Therefore, according to him, the problem of the lack of a transition period is relevant now primarily for taxi companies.
— Cars will have to be updated rapidly due to the completion of leasing, and drivers who exceed the revenue limit under the NAP (professional activity tax) regime will be forced to switch to the status of individual entrepreneurs, — he explained.
According to him, any change in information about the owner will lead to the fact that the non-localized vehicle will be removed from the register and from the legal taxi market.
The Maxim service noted that they consider it necessary to remove the self-employed with personal cars from the scope of the taxi localization rule. The service also believes that it is urgently necessary to differentiate the legal regulation of taxi companies and individuals. Two different transportation models should be legislated in Russia: professional taxi services and private drivers with private cars (ridesharing).
How did experts evaluate the list of taxi cars
On October 1, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade published a primary list of cars that meet the requirements of the Taxi Localization Act. It includes more than 20 models of six Russian brands.
So, seven Lada models are listed: UAZ Patriot and Hunter, Sollers SP7, Evolute, Voyah and Moskvich. The ministry also noted that sedans, crossovers, SUVs and seven-seater cars are among those included in the list.
The list of taxi cars proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade has raised questions from industry representatives. Irina Zaripova, Chairman of the Public Council for Taxi Development, drew attention to the presence of models in it that were not originally intended for passenger transportation in taxis.
— The presence of such cars in the list as, for example, UAZ Hunter, Patriot and Lada Niva Travel is particularly puzzling — these are cars for off-road driving, and not for working in urban taxi conditions, — Irina Zaripova told Izvestia.
She noted that of the entire list of proposed models, only five cars cost less than 1.5 million rubles. For an industry where self-employed drivers and small taxi companies play a key role, such prices actually close the possibility of updating cars, the expert believes.
— We hope to expand the list as soon as possible, taking into account the real needs of the taxi market and the availability of cars for carriers. In its current form, this list does not meet the challenges of the industry and creates risks of a shortage of legal cars," Irina Zaripova emphasized.
"Niva" and "UAZ" appeared on the list of the Ministry of Industry and Trade purely on a formal basis, since they meet the localization criteria for taxi cars, according to Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine. But the lack of other models in the list that also meet these criteria is puzzling to him.
— Haval Jolion crossovers assembled in the Tula region, as well as Solaris models produced near St. Petersburg, are the most localized foreign cars in our country at the moment. It is completely unclear why they were "forgotten" and not included in the list of taxi cars," Maxim Kadakov said.
In real life, according to Anton Shaparin, the taxi industry will have a choice of several AvtoVAZ models and the Moskvich 3 for the Economy class, as well as the Moskvich 6 and Moskvich 8 for the Comfort+ class.
The press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia that the published list of models for taxis is primary and the agency "will still update it."
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