Experts of the Russian automotive market predict that under the current conditions, taxi companies will soon feel an acute shortage of cars. The reason is the faster fleet change in this segment. While an individual who owns a car takes years to develop the life of a car (and can wait to upgrade the vehicle), carsharing and taxis in intensive use do this in a year or two. But what can the market offer them today?
There is nowhere to replenish taxis. Popular models of Skoda (Rapid), Volkswagen (Polo), Renault (Logan), Hyundai (Solaris), Kia (Rio) and a number of others, previously actively used in car sharing and taxis, are already preparing for retirement. What to replace them with? Sergey Tselikov, director of the analytical agency AUTOSTAT, recalled this problem during the live broadcast of "AUTOSTAT Operativka: results of July 2022".
The expert believes that neither LADA, the production of which was resumed in the AVTOVAZ assembly line in summer, nor Chinese manufacturers, which are consistently increasing their share in the Russian market, can save the situation. LADA in a light version, without ABS and airbags, is not an option for taxi companies, as such vehicles do not have the necessary level of safety for this. As for cars of Chinese brands, representatives of the auto industry from the Celestial Empire, without exception, undertook to bring only crossovers to our country, probably due to the higher marginality of the SUV segment.
Judging by the existing model range and the nearest announced premieres (the new OMODA brand is expected to appear in the autumn, Chery and Haval novelties are announced), the priority towards crossovers remains with the “Chinese” in the trend. However, crossovers are too expensive to be used in taxis, and, in addition, against the backdrop of a shortage of cars, it is not profitable for dealers to supply cars in bulk, while making corporate discounts. Therefore, the shortage of offers for taxi companies will become more and more urgent with each new month.
