After the increase of car recycling tax in Belarus, Russian car dealers may lose a significant number of customers from our country.
On February 4, vehicle recycling tax on the import of cars increased by 8.25 times for individuals and by 1.65 times for businesses. For this reason, there are fears that the Belarusian buyers will purchase cars on the domestic market, says the Russian analytical agency Autostat.
At the moment, the amount of customers from Belarus even reach 30% in some Russian showrooms, e.g. in Renault-Klintsy.
“Indeed, a flow of buyers from Belarus is coming to us. We are friends with Belarusians, they call, send , ask to call back,” the marketing department of the car center ‘Atlant-M Smolensk’ says.
Sometimes Russian car dealers even arrange additional services for Belarusians, e.g. transfer and accomodation in hotels.
There are hopes that even after the increase in fee Belarusians will keep buying cars in Russia for some time, because the U.S. dollar exchange rate will create a price difference in the two countries. But still, Russian vendors risk losing Belarusian buyers in the long run.
Read also: Fall in the ruble. Belarusians rush to buy cars in Russia again
