In 1930, a certain cheerful adventurer Ostap Bender declared from a high podium: “A car is not a luxury, but a means of transport.” However, he flat out lied to the public, who opened their mouths in surprise – at that time a personal car was something unattainable for the vast majority of ordinary people. However, the son of a Turkish citizen could try to see the future, but in this case his prediction was not very successful.
A century has passed since then, but the car in Russia has not come close to the masses and is still a luxury item – this is unlikely to apply to residents of capitals and oil-bearing megacities. The culprit is the yawning gap between real salaries and the price of even those models that are considered budget. It is therefore not at all surprising that in 2019, according to the World Bank, there were only 369 cars per 1,000 of our compatriots. Of course, this is more than in the USSR at the end of its existence – 59 units, but by modern standards it is very small, because even in the former socialist Poland there are 571 cars per thousand Poles, and those who came in large numbers numbers.
After Vladimir Putin’s recent unequivocal dissatisfaction with his instructions to finally make cars more affordable for consumers, experts sprang up with their recipes to pull the car market out of its peak. And the Avtostat agency took the trouble to collect their opinion. In our opinion, very dubious and not very understandable …
Denis Migal, CEO of Fresh Auto, assures that cars are now becoming more expensive due to interruptions in the supply of components for their production, changes and extensions of delivery routes and changes in suppliers. Well, such a statement could be accepted, if not just one. Somehow a counter question arises in itself: what kind of interruptions and extensions of routes disrupted the car market in 2021, 2020, 2019 and earlier, when the price tags also famously matched? Perhaps it’s not about the problems that constantly arise before the domestic car market, but about the elementary inability to solve them?
And Mr. Migal believes that the only way to make cars cheaper is to organize a full cycle of their production in our country. Bravo, this is advice so advice! And who, you ask, got involved in this, way back in the 2000s? Who missed the opportunity to get acquainted with advanced technologies in foreign factories operating in Russia? Who desecrated coverage of localization? Yes, there was simply no incentive to engage in solving complex problems while the money flowed like a river into the pockets of the car market participants.
Yulia Ovchinnikova, development director of the car holding company Klyuchavto, draws attention to the fact that a fall in car prices will be possible if domestic car manufacturers start using domestic car parts. But for decades, no one was interested in the development of this part of the auto business, except for repacking parts from a foreign box into a domestic one. And, of course, Madam Director calls on the state to support Russian automakers. Well, how else – the industry is unprofitable, unprofitable, without budget injections it will not survive.
Roman Slutsky, general manager of the Alarm-Motors Group of Companies, hopes for healthy competition. He thinks there will be significant shifts in pricing proposals once production and imports exceed 1 million new cars per year. Does it remind you of anything? VGM? “Invisible hand of the market”? Other liberal nonsense? Why did the market not fix the situation when nearly 3 million cars of 60 brands and 250 models were sold annually in Russia? Why then did they regularly grow in price?
The point, of course, is not that the experts say the wrong thing. No, with understanding of the situation, everything is fine with them. Only their approaches and those of ordinary people are different. Buyers want cars they can afford, and sellers and manufacturers want profits to flow like a rushing river, not a miserable stream. And preferably from all sources, including the state budget.
In 1930, a certain cheerful adventurer Ostap Bender declared from a high podium: “A car is not a luxury, but a means of transport.” However, he flat out lied to the public, who opened their mouths in surprise – at that time a personal car was something unattainable for the vast majority of ordinary people. However, the son of a Turkish citizen could try to see the future, but in this case his prediction was not very successful.
A century has passed since then, but the car in Russia has not come close to the masses and is still a luxury item – this is unlikely to apply to residents of capitals and oil-bearing megacities. The culprit is the yawning gap between real salaries and the price of even those models that are considered budget. It is therefore not at all surprising that in 2019, according to the World Bank, there were only 369 cars per 1,000 of our compatriots. Of course, this is more than in the USSR at the end of its existence – 59 units, but by modern standards it is very small, because even in the former socialist Poland there are 571 cars per thousand Poles, and those who came in large numbers numbers.
After Vladimir Putin’s recent unequivocal dissatisfaction with his instructions to finally make cars more affordable for consumers, experts sprang up with their recipes to pull the car market out of its peak. And the Avtostat agency took the trouble to collect their opinion. In our opinion, very dubious and not very understandable …
Denis Migal, CEO of Fresh Auto, assures that cars are now becoming more expensive due to interruptions in the supply of components for their production, changes and extensions of delivery routes and changes in suppliers. Well, such a statement could be accepted, if not just one. Somehow a counter question arises in itself: what kind of interruptions and extensions of routes disrupted the car market in 2021, 2020, 2019 and earlier, when the price tags also famously matched? Perhaps it’s not about the problems that constantly arise before the domestic car market, but about the elementary inability to solve them?
And Mr. Migal believes that the only way to make cars cheaper is to organize a full cycle of their production in our country. Bravo, this is advice so advice! And who, you ask, got involved in this, way back in the 2000s? Who missed the opportunity to get acquainted with advanced technologies in foreign factories operating in Russia? Who desecrated coverage of localization? Yes, there was simply no incentive to engage in solving complex problems while the money flowed like a river into the pockets of the car market participants.
Yulia Ovchinnikova, development director of the car holding company Klyuchavto, draws attention to the fact that a fall in car prices will be possible if domestic car manufacturers start using domestic car parts. But for decades, no one was interested in the development of this part of the auto business, except for repacking parts from a foreign box into a domestic one. And, of course, Madam Director calls on the state to support Russian automakers. Well, how else – the industry is unprofitable, unprofitable, without budget injections it will not survive.
Roman Slutsky, general manager of the Alarm-Motors Group of Companies, hopes for healthy competition. He thinks there will be significant shifts in pricing proposals once production and imports exceed 1 million new cars per year. Does it remind you of anything? VGM? “Invisible hand of the market”? Other liberal nonsense? Why did the market not fix the situation when almost 3 million cars of 60 brands and 250 models were sold annually in Russia? Why then did they regularly grow in price?
The point, of course, is not that the experts are saying the wrong things. No, with understanding of the situation, everything is fine with them. Only their approaches and those of ordinary people are different. Buyers want cars they can afford, and sellers and manufacturers want profits to flow like a rushing river, not a miserable stream. And preferably from all sources, including the state budget.
Source: Avto Vzglyad
Donald Salinas is an experienced automobile journalist and writer for Div Bracket. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of automobiles, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the latest trends and innovations in the automotive industry.