The head of the ROAD called the import of Toyota and Mazda to Russia a temporary story

Shipments of Japanese cars from China, which have increased significantly this year, are a temporary story, since such results are based only on allowing the import of these cars through "gray" channels. This was stated by Alexey Podshchekoldin, President of the Association of Russian Automobile Dealers (ROAD).

According to Podshchekoldin, models of Japanese brands are in demand because of the prevailing opinion about their former popularity and reliability, and they are being acquired by an established group of people who are against buying Chinese cars.

"People purchase these cars, but this channel exists because it is formed due to the uneven administration of the market. As soon as the channel is closed, it will all be over," Rossiyskaya Gazeta quoted Podshchekoldin as saying on May 7.

The popularity of models from brands such as Toyota and Mazda has grown due to the fact that these models with engines of up to two liters and a capacity of up to 160 hp have become more profitable than others due to changes in the rules for calculating the recycling fee. Last year, 16 thousand cars were imported through the "gray" channel, this year almost 41 thousand cars were imported in the first quarter, the head of the ROAD noted.

Chronic phase: the Russian car market is emerging from an acute crisis

Sales of new passenger cars increased by 13 in a month%

As Sergey Tselikov, director of the Autostat analytical agency, said earlier that day, 9708 new Toyota cars were registered in Russia in January—April. This is almost twice (+97%) more than in January—April last year, when 4,929 cars of this Japanese brand were registered in the country.