Symptoms of mild depression – Newspaper Kommersant No. 33 (7478) of 02/27/2023

The fleet of passenger vehicles in Moscow, Moscow, Saratov regions, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Territory and other regions decreased for the first time in many years in 2022, follows from the reporting of the traffic police. At the same time, in the Tyumen Region, Tatarstan and Primorsky Territory, the number of registered cars, on the contrary, increased. On average, the growth rate of personal vehicles across the country has decreased by three to four times compared to two to three years ago. Experts interviewed by Kommersant attribute this to both a general drop in sales in the automotive market and the departure of Russians from the country in 2022.

After examining the statistical section of the website of the State traffic inspectorate, Kommersant found: at the end of 2022, 60.45 million motor vehicles were registered with the traffic police. This is only 312 thousand (or 0.5%) more than in 2021. In 2019–2021, we note that the vehicle fleet has grown steadily by 1.4–1.9% annually.

By the end of 2022, 50.6 million passenger cars were registered in the country. Trucks – 6.67 million, buses – 833.6 thousand, category L vehicles (motorcycles, mopeds, ATVs) – 2.3 million vehicles aged one to three years – by 2% (6.5 million). However, vehicles older than 15 years are still the most – more than 19 million. However, transport is becoming more environmentally friendly: cars with Euro-5 engines have increased by 4% compared to 2021, Euro-6 – by 33%. And the Euro-1 units that cause more harm to nature have become 2% less. The most massive segment remains cars with Euro-4 engines (15.8 million) and with engines whose class has not been established (15 million). The fleet of electric vehicles increased by 61% (a total of 23.7 thousand units), by 51% – hybrids (138.5 thousand units).

In Moscow in 2022, for the first time, a decrease in the car fleet was recorded: the number of cars registered with the traffic police decreased by 16.6 thousand, amounting to 4.13 million. In the Moscow region, there were 11.1 thousand fewer cars, in St. Petersburg – by 11 thousand, in the Saratov Region – by 7.9 thousand, in the Krasnodar Territory – by 7.3 thousand, in the Pskov Region – by 5 thousand. regions – by 5.3 thousand, in Tatarstan – by 2 thousand, in Kamchatka – by 1 thousand.

The record holder was Primorye, where an additional 15,000 passenger cars were registered during the year. In 2022, Kommersant reported earlier, individuals imported almost 200,000 used cars, mostly Japanese and Korean, through Vladivostok to Russia.

Vice-President of the National Automobile Union Anton Shaparin believes that cars in the regions are getting smaller only on paper. In fact, many car owners remove cars from the register and continue to drive them (vehicles disappear from the traffic police bases and are no longer reflected in the reports). “People are now trying to save on fines from cameras, OSAGO, transport tax,” he explained to Kommersant. “Therefore, for example, in Moscow, due to the huge number of cameras, there is such a serious reduction in registered cars.” Meetings with the traffic police inspector, Anton Shaparin believes, do not frighten such drivers.

But Viktor Travin, president of the Moscow Board of Legal Protection of Car Owners, considers this version unlikely. If the driver does not hand over the number to the traffic police upon termination of registration, then they are put on the wanted list. When checking such a machine, the inspector draws up material for driving with false state registration marks (it is fraught with deprivation of rights for up to six months). Therefore, Mr. Travin is inclined to another version: he recalls that last year many Russians left the country due to the start of a military operation and the announcement of partial mobilization. Many crossed the border in their cars, having previously deregistered them in order to use them in a new place. Migration from Moscow was the most significant in 2022, adds Petr Shkumatov, coordinator of the Blue Buckets movement, but many car owners sold their cars to other regions. This partly explains the growth of the vehicle fleet in some subjects. Viktor Travin does not rule out that among the deregistered cars there may be many off-road vehicles: according to the legislation, the state, in specified cases, can confiscate all-wheel drive cars during mobilization. In this regard, suggests Mr. Travin, many car owners stopped registering with the traffic police.

In the capital’s Center for Traffic Management (TsODD) of Moscow, Kommersant was told that in 2022, 2.97 million cars drove onto the city’s roads daily – 140 thousand less (4.9%) than in 2021. “Most of the motorists have returned or used public transport for the first time, and have also begun to use taxis more often,” they say in the TsODD. “More and more Muscovites prefer the metro, MCD, trams and electric buses for daily commuting. In 2022, passengers made more than 15 million trips per working day, 580,000 more than in 2021.”

The renewal of the fleet is much slower due to a sharp decline in sales of new cars, adds Anton Shaparin. In 2023, according to his forecasts, much more cars aged three to five years will be imported into Russia (now there are 5.8 million). According to the Association of European Businesses, in 2022 the market for new cars fell by 59%, to 687 thousand. The association expects that in 2023 the market will grow by 12%, to 0.77 million.

Ivan Buranov