Yandex asked AvtoVAZ, as well as the Chinese automakers BAIC Group and Chery, to increase the supply of vehicles for leasing companies with which Yandex.Taxi works. Forbes writes about this with reference to a July letter from Yandex Business Development Director Ivan Zapolsky to AvtoVAZ President Maxim Sokolov.
In his letter, Zapolsky notes that Yandex.Taxi is looking for suppliers for its key services and business partners amid a significant shortage of cars and spare parts that Russian fleets are facing. In total, the company needs over 50,000 cars annually to upgrade its taxi fleet.
“Cars of the Lada brand are currently being effectively used in our service and have proven to be reliable vehicles,” the letter says.
One of the publication’s sources points to Yandex’s fears about the shortage in a year. The company is also negotiating, according to him, with the Belarusian automaker Unison. According to Forbes, Yandex intends to become an intermediary between car concerns and taxi companies: the first one guarantees demand for large lots of cars, and the second guarantees the availability of cars from leasing companies to renew the fleet. At the same time, it is the taxi companies that usually receive the car as property after the completion of the lease, the newspaper notes.
Yandex.Taxi itself told Forbes that they are not currently experiencing an acute shortage of cars, but they confirmed negotiations with a number of Russian and foreign automakers.
Sales of new passenger cars by the end of 2022 may fall by 28-55%, analysts of the consulting company Trust Technologies (PwC’s assignee in Russia) concluded earlier. In 2021, 1.514 million cars were sold in Russia, in the same year the final figures will depend on the macroeconomic situation and the preservation of state support measures. If they continue, 1.09 million cars will be sold in Russia, of which 227,000 will be domestic brands, 688,000 will be Russian-made foreign cars, and 175,000 will be imported. With increased sanctions pressure, a worsening macroeconomic situation, a massive withdrawal of players from the market, a reduction in imports and a deterioration in logistics with the supply of components, sales may decrease by 50% or more.
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