The share of illegal automotive products in Russia is close to 50% of the market

The share of illegal automotive products in the Russian market is close to 50%, and counterfeit products have a particularly high share in certain categories. This is stated in the results of a study by the public organization Public Consumer Initiative, which Izvestia reviewed on April 1.

According to the study, the most vulnerable from the point of view of counterfeiting were oils and lubricants, filters, spark plugs, suspension and steering parts. The losses of the budget system of the Russian Federation due to the illegal turnover of automotive products, according to conservative estimates by experts, amount to 142 billion rubles annually.

"After the breakup of the previous logistics chains and the departure of some foreign copyright holders, the market lost a significant part of corporate control over the authenticity of products. This created a vacuum, which was occupied by shadow schemes of import, packaging and marketing," the document says.

Experts drew attention to the proliferation of local repackaging and branding schemes. Unnamed components and low-quality parts are imported as formally neutral goods, and then packaged and labeled within the country under well-known brands, which makes it difficult to prevent violations at an early stage.

In addition, there is a shift in sales to online channels. Marketplaces and online stores have become one of the main channels for the sale of counterfeits. Remote purchase reinforces information asymmetry: the consumer cannot check the quality of the part before paying, and the pricing algorithms of the sites push to choose the cheapest offers.

"Illegal suppliers circumvent the conformity assessment procedures under TR CU 018/2011, use forged or fictitiously executed documents and bring products to the market that have not passed real tests. Modern fakes are often impossible to distinguish visually, even for specialists, and most consumers do not have authentication tools," the analysts also pointed out.

Labeled candles: what will the mandatory labeling of spare parts lead to?

Almost half of the car parts in Russia are counterfeit

Earlier, on March 20, it was reported that the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia proposed to introduce mandatory labeling of auto parts. The project provides for the phased introduction of mandatory labeling of certain types of vehicle components, devices with an internal combustion engine and self-propelled vehicles from September 1 of this year. Labeling mechanisms have already been tested as part of an experiment that runs from February 25, 2025 to August 31, 2026.

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