Foreign cars snap up like hot cakes in Russia. The Auto Committee of the European Business Club has summed up the results of official foreign cars sales in the first quarter of 2002 in Russia, which shows that the number of leading foreign automobile brands sold in Russia has grown manifold as compared to the similar period of last year. In many ways the growth was driven by a surge in demand for comparatively cheap foreign brands.
For example the Nissan concern sold 5,286 automobiles in Russia in 2001, which is 8 percent more than in 2000. Over the last five years some 25,000 automobiles produced by Nissan have been sold in Russia.
Tariffs are now about 10%. There are authorized dealers, service & parts for virtually all Western cars including Mercedes (most popular), BMW, Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Rolls Royce, and Land Rover.
It is important to point out that Imported cars should be modified for the Russian market, especially stronger shock absorbers and carburetor adjusted for Russian gasoline. Lead-free gasoline is difficult to find outside the city, so it is best not to have a catalytic converter.