Neutral territory: how will the popular car classifieds change?

The purchase of <url> by T-Auto, a division of the IT company T—Technologies, has become a significant event in the automotive industry in 2026. It marks the transformation of the Russian market into a platform economy phase, experts and market players believe. Where will the most famous car website develop further after the change of ownership and what new things can it offer to those who plan to buy a car? Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Not just a website with ads

The acquisition is planned to be closed within a few months after receiving corporate and regulatory approvals, but its amount has already been announced — an impressive 35 billion rubles. This is significantly more than Yandex paid for the classifieds in 2014. Since then, the monthly audience of the service has almost tripled — from 12 million to 33 million users. Besides, actually, the website "Auto.<url>" with a database of ads and other sections, T-Auto gets the platform "Auto.ru Business", which combines products and services for the development of the automotive business, and the financial platform for car dealers eCredit, to which more than 20 leading banks in the segment of car loans are connected.

According to its own statement, T-Auto intends to build a 360° ecosystem based on <url>, which will unite millions of private car buyers and sellers, thousands of car dealers and hundreds of automakers. The company already has its own ecosystem for online car sales, car leasing and various services for motorists. In addition, the company offers an impressive set of fintech tools for financing both ordinary consumers and market players.

The accumulated experience will allow us to transform the "Car.<url>" into a "single window" where the user can buy, sell, evaluate a car, get a loan for its purchase, insure or sign up for a service.

— At the same time, we are not talking about a sharp reversal of the model, but about evolution: <url> is likely to retain the role of a showcase and entry point, but will gradually "acquire" additional services, — says Alexander Zaitsev, CEO of Atomic Capital.

It will retain its independence

The parties to the deal emphasize that <url> will continue to operate independently. In fact, a "managed neutral territory" is being created, which not only provides a meeting place, but forms the rules of interaction between sellers and buyers, ensures digitalization, transparency and security of transactions.

— In this regard, T-Technologies has an undoubted advantage: the requirements for the protection and processing of user data in the financial and banking sector are among the highest in the economy. From this point of view, we can also expect some synergy, says Dmitry Kozlov, founder of The12 Capital investment company.

Nadezhda Kapustina, PhD, Professor of the Department of Logistics at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, emphasizes that the most likely scenario is that the site retains the status of a neutral territory where banks, dealers and private sellers interact on equal terms.

— Market practice has repeatedly confirmed that monopolizing the financial channel within the marketplace destroys the very versatility that creates the value of the platform. Its success depends on the trust of all participants in the ecosystem: dealerships that place thousands of ads, banks competing for car loans, and end users who rely on objective loans and fair conditions," said Nadezhda Kapustina.

Equal access

Dealers and banks are really interested in equal access to promotion on <url>, Dmitry Kozlov notes.

— If we are talking about the transition to a transactional platform, then the presence of a large number of dealers on it may be the key to its extremely wide coverage of the online car sales market. In this case, equal conditions for dealers will be a positive factor for attracting and retaining them on the platform," he said.

In order for all parties to be interested in selling through a platform with certain financial products, it is necessary to take into account the interests of all participants in the process, says Natalia Litvinova, Commercial Director of U Service+.

— For a dealer, the main thing is that customers have alternatives when choosing ways to buy a car and, of course, that the dealer's interests are also taken into account. It's no secret that car dealerships have long since stopped making money on the car itself, a large share of the dealer's income is just commissions from banks for the sale of financial products. For private sellers, adding the option of buying on credit is a big step that is currently missing," she said.

Yulia Pustovaya, Director of the Maxim Group's F&I department, agreed with the statement that competition between banks and dealers would only benefit the client.

— Will T-Auto make sure that everything is distributed to only one player? Of course not. Simply because it is a drastic fundamental restructuring of the market. Everything that has been done in car loans over the past few years, whether it's regulators, the banking system, or transparent transactions, is very beneficial to the client.

The trust of the participants is a key asset for the infrastructure platform, says Rinat Uteshev, Rolf's Director of Development.

If the balance of interests is disrupted, competition or transparency decreases, the platform begins to lose value for all parties.

Equal access conditions, data protection and transparency of transactions are not a formality, but the basis of a sustainable business model, Rinat Uteshev notes. Especially in car loans, where the choice is crucial for the client.

— Exclusive conditions in favor of one participant limit competition, reduce the choice for the client and may lead to an outflow of other partners. In the long run, this weakens the platform itself. Therefore, an open model of interaction is not only a matter of market ethics, but also an economic necessity," Rinat Uteshev believes.

Car loans for private owners

Experts note that the business model is "Auto.<url> has historically been based on the placement of ads for the secondary sale of cars, and the new owners of the classifieds are unlikely to radically change anything. At the same time, its transformation may give an impetus to the development of car loans in the secondary market.

The collaboration between T-Auto and <url> will primarily affect the used car market, Yulia Pustovaya believes. This will allow for some competition between banks and market players, so that the market is more convenient, transparent, and understandable to end consumers. The right story is to create a kind of platform where customers participate, where all banks participate.

According to the analytical agency Autostat, 6.24 million used passenger cars were sold in Russia in 2025, which is about five times the volume of the primary market. According to the analytical and consulting company Frank RG, the penetration depth of car loans in the segment of new cars reaches 71.1%, and in the segment of used cars — only 9.52%

While a significant part of the processes in the new car segment have already been institutionalized, on the contrary, fragmentation and a high level of information asymmetry and risks remain in the secondary market. says Alexander Zaitsev. At the same time, the combination of scale and structure makes the secondary market attractive for the formation of a digital ecosystem.

The "bottleneck" of the market is not the offer, but the trust and infrastructure of the deal, he believes. A necessary step to improve the security of a car deal.The goal will be to integrate dealers into the chain of issuing loans to individuals who also purchase cars from private owners, experts say.

The dealer can act as an agent for vehicle inspection and certification, a platform for secure transfer, and the platform can provide scoring, escrow settlement and legal support, Nadezhda Kapustina believes. Rinat Uteshev agrees with this, noting that the process of creating a C2C service is impossible without the participation of dealers. The market needs a verification point — checking the condition of the car, documents and transaction parameters.

From the user's first click to the final transaction

The deal to purchase <url> is the transition of the entire Russian automotive market to a new phase of the platform economy, where marketplaces, ecosystems and network effects are beginning to play a key role, according to Kirill Larin, founder of eCredit and Appruvo.

— With the purchase of <url>, T-Auto gets the missing element — traffic and a platform for combining and synergizing all products. The more users come to the platform, the more dealers go there. The more dealers there are, the wider the offer. This increases the number of transactions, which attracts users again," he said.

— The synergy here is not in adding a financial partner to the classification, but in creating a more convenient, transparent and predictable environment for the client. In this sense, the deal has potential both for the car loan market and for the segment of used cars," Rinat Uteshev believes.