Russia Faces Car Crisis

Vladimir Putin's right hand man has bemoaned the quality of a domestic-made vehicle, months after the Russian leader pushed top officials to forgo foreign cars for Russian ones as Russia's car industry faces challenging times.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov made the comments about Russia's "Predator" all-terrain vehicle, which Putin used during his visit to Chukotka in the far east of the country on Wednesday.

Western sanctions imposed over Putin's war in Ukraine have strained Russia's car market, with foreign makers pulling out and suspending operations in the country. Russia has also been plagued with spare parts shortages, with the issue forcing Russian car maker Avtomaz to suspend operations in May 2023.

In August 2023, amid a push by Russia to mobilize its domestic automotive industry, Putin demanded that "all officials of the country should drive domestic cars." He also instructed the government last June to "consider the issue of developing and applying requirements" that would require taxi drivers to only use Russian vehicles.

When asked about the Predator by reporters on Wednesday, Peskov said that the driver who collected him from the airport said that he had to "improve" the vehicle with a file.

"Tighten here, adjust there," Putin's press secretary said. "The steering wheel works awfully, the gearbox is bad. The engine works very well, but it turned out that the engine is imported."

"I would address the manufacturers: this vehicle, of course, has room for improvement…they have to adjust the product," Peskov added. "Instead they are trying to rest on their laurels. There is nothing else, so everyone is buying from them."

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry by email for comment.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, said on X, formerly Twitter, that the Predator is produced in Russia's Tyumen region, and costs up to 8.4 million rubles (around $94,500).

In 2023, sales of new cars in Russia rebounded to 1.06 million units—representing a 69 percent year-on-year increase—according to data from Russian analytical agency Autostat, which said that Chinese car sales appear to have peaked at more than 56 percent of the market, Reuters reported Wednesday.

"There is a desire (from Chinese car makers) to sell up to 2 million on the Russian market and there is a desire from people to buy them," Autostat head Sergei Tselikov told reporters.

But while Chinese car manufacturers are filling the void left by foreign automakers who exited the Russian market in response to the war in Ukraine, the Russian Union of Automotive Services said in 2023 that Chinese vehicles frequently break down and regularly require repair and maintenance.

Complaints are also made about the quality of spare parts made in China.

"These are similar to parts for European cars but of very low quality. They cost much less than original spare parts, but they can and do lead to serious damage," an employee of a car service station told local publication URA.RU on condition of anonymity in October 2023.

"The breakdowns can be very serious. Up to a major overhaul of the engine, and this is already a lot of money," the employee added.

Russian taxi companies are also speaking out against the proposed legislation that would require the use of domestic cars, saying that they are less reliable, local news outlet newizv.ru reported.

Oxford Analytica, an international consulting firm based in England, assessed on Wednesday that Russia's car industry will struggle to recover from its current malaise.

Russian automakers will likely keep relying on "gray" schemes to ensure uninterrupted delivery of components and spare parts. Chinese automakers and suppliers are likely to limit their investment presence in Russia to avoid the risk of secondary sanctions, and technological sovereignty in the automotive industry is likely to result in low-quality products that will be relatively expensive, the firm said.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.