Russia’s passenger car fleet continues to rapidly age following the withdrawal of foreign automakers due to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The share of cars over ten years old reached a record 72.8% in 2025, almost double the 2015 figure.

These figures were cited by Byte Transit founder Alexey Shpikelman at a conference organized by Kommersant Publishing House .  

According to Shpikelman, the average age of cars in the country is 15.5 years. 

These figures are confirmed by a government document cited by TASS. It states that the number of cars over ten years old amounted to 40.1 million units, or 72.8% of Russia’s total vehicle fleet. According to Avtostat calculations, the average age of used cars in January–July 2025 reached 15.5 years, which aligns with Shpikelman’s data.

Maxim Kadakov, editor of the magazine “Behind the Wheel,” emphasized in February that to slow the aging of the vehicle fleet, 2–2.2 million cars need to be sold annually, and at least 3 million to renew it. However, according to Avtostat, only 1.57 million new cars were sold in Russia in 2024.

According to Kadakov, owners of foreign cars from outdated brands are in no hurry to switch to Russian or Chinese models, and in many cases, this is due to a lack of funds. “The reality is that people don’t have the money to change cars frequently. Prices are rising, and they’re not willing to buy a new car because of the high cost,” agrees Sergey Udalov, executive director of Avtostat.

By the end of 2024, the average price of a new car in Russia had increased by 6%, reaching 3.12 million rubles. Avtostat’s baseline forecast for 2025 had expected a 10% year-on-year sales decline.

However, actual figures for the first half of the year were worse: only 530,400 new passenger cars were sold in Russia, while including trucks and buses, the figure was 601,800.

This is 28% lower than the same period last year. Sales of passenger cars declined by 26%, buses by almost 60%, and heavy trucks by 55.9%.

(C)CENSOR.NET 2025