In mid-autumn 2022, information slipped through the press that there were some 3,200 car dealerships in Russia. In addition, about 900 of them at that time were engaged in the sale of cars of various Chinese brands. It is clear that there will not be enough “Chinese” for everyone and many merchants will have to leave. The fat times, when in 2020-2021 it was possible to safely “push” a customer with a set of branded salon carpets for 200,000 rubles or anti-corrosion treatment of a car for 500,000 rubles, are over and, it would seem, irrevocable.

The approach to the “copper basin” model of motor vehicle trading that has existed in Russia for many years was first fully felt in the spring of 2022. Then many market players hedged. Particularly from the premium segment and specialized in working with car brands that fled Russia. But the majority of merchants continued to “float”, gradually selling auto stocks at high prices. Hoping that if you hold on a little bit, persevere, the situation will somehow correct itself and be able to save the business. There were even predictions that alternative car deliveries were literally about to pour into Russia. For example, instead of VW from Europe, we will receive “Germans” from the Chinese factories of this concern. It didn’t grow.

Representatives of this not very old profession were mostly out of work at the beginning of 2000, when global car brands flocked to Russia, and the country’s authorities increased customs duties on cars. And now there is a real renaissance of such services as “I will bring the car to order”. They can supply you with “wheels” even from Europe, even from the US, even from Korea. Everything would be fine, but they do it for much more modest money than car dealership structures. The latter cannot withstand such competition, and the “margin of safety” – the stock of new cars – is rapidly melting.

According to some estimates, only Chinese models will remain in warehouses in February. Which, as we have already noted, is physically not enough for everyone who wants to trade cars in Russia. For this reason, we can expect reports as early as March about the beginning of a wave of bankruptcies of Russian car dealers. By the summer of this year, if nothing changes, it will reach its peak. “Not just everyone” will survive. At best, about a third of the current “list” of car dealers remains. But this is also not right … To some extent, it is for the better. The system that has flourished for two decades, charging car buyers with extra equipment and insurance at insanely high prices, is by no means a shame.

In mid-autumn 2022, information slipped through the press that there were some 3,200 car dealerships in Russia. In addition, about 900 of them at that time were engaged in the sale of cars of various Chinese brands. It is clear that there will not be enough “Chinese” for everyone and many merchants will have to leave. The fat times, when in 2020-2021 it was possible to safely “push” a customer with a set of branded salon carpets for 200,000 rubles or anti-corrosion treatment of a car for 500,000 rubles, are over and, it would seem, irrevocable.

The approach to the “copper basin” model of motor vehicle trading that has existed in Russia for many years was first fully felt in the spring of 2022. Then many market players hedged. Particularly from the premium segment and specialized in working with car brands that fled Russia. But the majority of merchants continued to “float”, gradually selling auto stocks at high prices. Hoping that if you hold on a little bit, persevere, the situation will somehow correct itself and be able to save the business. There were even predictions that alternative car deliveries were literally about to pour into Russia. For example, instead of VW from Europe, we will receive “Germans” from the Chinese factories of this concern. It didn’t grow.

Representatives of this not very old profession were mostly out of work at the beginning of 2000, when global car brands flocked to Russia, and the country’s authorities increased customs duties on cars. And now there is a real renaissance of such services as “I will bring the car to order”. They can supply you with “wheels” even from Europe, even from the US, even from Korea. Everything would be fine, but they do it for much more modest money than car dealership structures. The latter cannot withstand such competition, and the “margin of safety” – the stock of new cars – is rapidly melting.

According to some estimates, only Chinese models will remain in warehouses in February. Which, as we have already noted, is physically not enough for everyone who wants to trade cars in Russia. For this reason, we can expect reports as early as March about the beginning of a wave of bankruptcies of Russian car dealers. By the summer of this year, if nothing changes, it will reach its peak. “Not just everyone” will survive. At best, car dealers will be left with about a third of the current “payroll”. But this is also not right … To some extent, it is for the better. The system that has flourished for two decades, charging car buyers with extra equipment and insurance at insanely high prices, is by no means a shame.