Used car imports doubled in Jan-Jun 2023 to 130 000 units – Vladivostok Customs

June was a record month for used car imports, statistics showed

Natural persons continue to actively import second-hand motor cars of primarily Japanese and South Korean brands through the Russian Far East hubs. Vladivostok Customs clearance documents showed more than 130,000 of these cars were imported to Russia in January-June 2023, which is a twofold growth on the H1, 2023, the Russian Federal Customs Service (FCS) said in its Telegram Messenger.

June appears to be a record month in terms of the number of cleared motor cars, more than 28,000 units, beating the record of November last year by several hundred units. As before, about 80% of these automobiles brands are from Japan: Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Honda, Subaru. The second are South Korean auto manufacturers: Hyundai, Genesis, SsangYong, Kia, with a handful units of China brands.

A sharp spike in foreign car imports was noticed last year due to a number of factors: the sanctions imposed on Russia, the withdrawal of large international automobile companies from the Russian market, the favorable exchange rate and the shortage of new motor cars, which continues to maintain the trend in car imports today.