Alexander Skolubovich, director of Atlant-M Holpi stated that the Russian government is planning to illegalize the import of foreign cars from Belarus until the end of June in order to curb the competition being faced by domestic-made vehicles.
The firm is the official distributor of Mazda and Land Rover vehicles in Belarus and has been responsible for majority of cars from the two automaker brands shipped into Russia. Oleg Datsko, a Russian car industry expert revealed that if high quantities of cars continue to be shipped from Belarus into Russia then domestic automakers will call on the Kremlin to do something about it. He added that this may cause Russian authorities to ban the importation of specific car brands into the country from Belarus.
Ludmila Shabanova, Director General of the Belarusian Automobile Association (BAA) stated that a Russian ban will cripple the Belarusian automobile market due to the fact that car dealers will have to offload their vehicle stocks in their domestic market only.
Shabanova stated that the sale of second hand cars will decline after July 1 when Belarusian authorities raise import duties into the country. She added that this will cause the value of used cars to decline, as supply will be higher than demand.
Shabanova stated that the current second hand car market in Belarus is thriving and has resulted in surging prices for used cars in the European country. This has even led to the emergence of a black market for used cars in Belarus.
