Right-wing extremism: cars from Japan want to be replaced
Russia has proposed measures to encourage the replacement of right-hand drive vehicles with "safer" left-hand drive vehicles. This initiative was made by the head of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Andrey Kutepov. He refers to the increase in accidents among right-hand drive cars. Is it worth waiting for a ban on used cars from Japan and why their popularity may grow, Izvestia found out.
Restrict and stimulate
Senator Kutepov cited data from the Autostat agency, according to which there are 3.87 million right—hand drive cars in Russia, about 1.99 million of which are registered in the Far East, and another 1.43 million in the Siberian Federal districts.
"The share of right-hand drive vehicles in the domestic fleet is about 8.2%. At the same time, 16,077 accidents occurred last year with the participation of right—hand drive vehicles (which is 0.9% more than a year earlier), that is, 12.2% of the share of all accidents in 2024," SenatInform quotes Andrey Kutepov's letter addressed to First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.
It is important that regulatory restrictive requirements are planned in a phased manner and combined with incentive measures, Andrey Kutepov noted.
He mentioned government subsidy programs for citizens who have decided to buy a new safe car as incentive measures. He stressed that new cars should be provided with the necessary supplies of spare parts, as well as a wide service infrastructure.
It will have an impact on the rejuvenation of the park
The press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia told Izvestia that the appeal will be considered in accordance with the established procedure if it is received by the department.
— Let us remind you that at the moment the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia is already systematically working to stimulate demand for domestic cars, including through preferential car loans and preferential leasing programs. Conceptually, such an initiative can have a positive impact both on the rejuvenation of the park and on the level of road safety. However, together with the industry community, it is necessary to work out balanced solutions — at this stage, there is no question of forced replacement of right—hand drive vehicles," the department said.
Which right-hand drive cars are being transported to Russia
In 2022, imports of right-hand drive vehicles to Russia increased by 45%, to 175 thousand units, and continued to increase, reaching 226 thousand in 2024.
In the first eight months of this year, 1.9 thousand new right-hand drive passenger cars were imported into our country (-34% compared to the same period in 2024) and 141.7 thousand used ones (-9%), the analytical agency Autostat told Izvestia. Moreover, in addition to Toyota and Honda, which are in the greatest demand, right-hand drive Mercedes and Volkswagen trucks are being driven, said Sergey Tselikov, General Director of Autostat.
Preferential category
The popularity of "right-hand drive cars" may be added by the draft Ministry of Industry and Trade, which provides for changes in the rules for determining the amount of the recycling fee.
For individuals who import cars to Russia for personal use, it is proposed to maintain preferential coefficients for cars with a capacity of up to 160 hp. For the regions of the Far East, more than 95% of right—hand drive cars imported last year are models with a capacity of up to 160 hp, which are subject to the preferential coefficient, even taking into account the proposed changes. the Ministry of Industry and Trade clarifies.
According to Sergey Tselikov, General Director of the Autostat agency, in July the most popular right-hand drive models imported into our country were the Honda Freed, Honda Fit, Toyota Corolla, Honda Stepwgn and Toyota Yaris. According to their technical characteristics, all of them fit into the proposed 160 hp range.
For the same money, but with better equipment
It is difficult to compare used Japanese cars in the Far Eastern region, especially when it comes to price, said Sergey Tselikov. Currently, cars aged 5-7 years old are mainly imported there, which cost customers about 1.2–1.5 million rubles and can serve on Russian roads for another 10-15 years without problems.
For a significant part of consumers, especially in the Far East, a used right-hand drive car from Japan represents a much better price-performance ratio, said Nikita Kolesnikov, a representative of the Japanese export company HSS in the Russian Federation.
"For the same money, and often for less, the buyer gets a car with a higher level of equipment, reliability and overall condition compared to new budget models of domestic production," he says.
At the same time, he believes that there will be no mass distribution of right-hand drive vehicles beyond their "traditional range" in the Far East.
— First of all, it's logistics: the cost of driving a car across the country significantly "eats up" its initial price advantage. Secondly, it is an infrastructural issue: in the central regions of the country, the same network of services is not developed and there is no such availability of spare parts as in the Far East. Finally, there remains a psychological barrier and adaptation issues for drivers who are not used to right—hand drive, especially when performing overtaking maneuvers," said Nikita Kolesnikov.
The issue of overtaking
Experts interviewed by Izvestia do not believe that right-hand drive cars are less safe than left-hand drive ones.
From a safety point of view, the only problem with right—hand drive vehicles is overtaking on a narrow two-lane suburban highway, explained Igor Morzharetto, partner at Autostat. If a person has been driving such a car for several months, he is already acquiring the skills of safe overtaking, the expert noted.
— We have a very emergency situation in the entire Far East. And since there are a lot of right-hand drive cars, it turns out mathematically that there are a lot of accidents with them. There will be left-hand drive cars, and there will be a lot of accidents involving them. And the fact that the accident rate has increased, so the volume of imports has increased. If there are more cars, then it is obvious that the number of accidents with them has also increased. And which safe cars do we want to replace them with? — said Maxim Kadakov, the editor-in-chief of Za Rudem.
It's a difficult question.
It is not worth purposefully abandoning the use of such machines in Russia, says Nikolai Novichok, a member of the State Duma Committee on the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
"In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with right-hand drive cars. <...> I do not know and have not seen those studies that right-hand drive cars are more dangerous and more emergency-intensive on the roads. In my opinion, there is no confirmation of this factor," Novichok said. The deputy pointed out that when discussing the issue of abandoning the use of right-hand drive cars in the regions of Siberia and the Far East, social tension arises.
According to Igor Morzharetto, banning the use of right—hand drive vehicles is a very difficult issue from a social point of view.
— Even from the concept of the Road Safety Strategy, which was published in the summer, this point has already been removed. If the ban were accompanied, for example, by an interest-free loan for the purchase of a Russian-made car, then there would be room for discussion. But there is no such thing, because there is no money for it," the expert noted.
The Russian Interior Ministry strongly opposed any restrictions on the operation of right-hand drive vehicles. The agency has not put forward such initiatives and does not support them.
According to official statistics, in 2024, the number of deaths in accidents involving right-hand drive vehicles was about 12% of the total number of deaths in road accidents.
— The study of the possibilities of ensuring safety in the operation of right-hand drive vehicles is provided for in the draft new Strategy for improving Road Safety. At the same time, it is planned to assess the risks caused, for example, by the location of the control mechanisms and the settings of external lighting devices in such vehicles," Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said in her Telegram channel.
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