In the face of an acute shortage in the car market, some buyers went in search of the desired car in neighboring regions. And they are driven not only by the desire to choose a complete set and color of the car, but also by the opportunity to save money on dealer “markups” – there are much fewer of them in provincial cities than in megalopolises.
Metropolitan guest performers
For more than a year, the Russian market has been in a raging deficit, due to which cars are practically not available. And if we talk about the configuration and color of the car, then dealers do not leave a choice at all. In the best case, they will offer to make a pre-order, without guaranteeing either a fixed price or even a delivery time.
However, given that prices are constantly growing, and the waiting times for cars by customers are constantly shifting, often buyers have to choose from what is in the salon. And these, as a rule, are cars with a bunch of additional options that almost double the final cost.
In these conditions, more and more often, Russians are forced to go to other regions for a car, where the choice of trim levels and colors may be greater. However, this practice existed before, but then it was about residents of the regions who came for a new car in regional centers or Moscow. Now buyers from the capital cities have headed to the provinces, hoping to find a suitable car there.
Thus, according to the Pragmatika Group of Companies, in August-September, the number of buyers of new cars who, due to the lack of supply in St. dealerships in the northern capital still corresponded to demand.
According to Alexander Shaprinsky, Development Director of Pragmatics Group, Petersburgers are looking for not only new cars in other cities, but also used cars. In the absence of a wide choice, residents of St. Petersburg are ready to purchase in other cities those models and configurations that are available.
“Indeed, in the last six months there has been a tendency when buyers of new cars are forced to purchase their desired car in another region. As a rule, this is due to a shortage of new cars. For example, at the moment it is not easy to find even Lada Granta, since this model is now in the category of rare In the free sale. Such an unusual format of car search is chosen by residents of megalopolises. Most often they go to other cities from Moscow and St. Petersburg. After all, in the regions there is often more choice, and prices are lower, and most importantly, the cars you are looking for may be available “, – says Denis Migal, CEO of Fresh Auto dealership network.
Seven miles is not a hook
Photo: Vladimir Gerdo / TASS
According to the Pragmatica Group of Companies, St. Petersburg motorists are ready to purchase new cars, as a rule, within 500 km from St. Petersburg, if necessary. Thus, in August-September, Pskov and Veliky Novgorod became the most popular car search destinations.
In addition, due to the shortage of some models and complete sets, as well as fears of further price increases, the number of “St. Petersburg” transactions in the cities of the North-West and Central Russia, which are located at a more remote distance, began to grow. And the maximum distance that customers have covered in recent months to get a new car is the road to Murmansk, which is about 1400 km.
“According to our observations, customers are ready to cover a distance of 400-500 km from their place of residence in order to purchase the desired car. But due to the rise in prices and the continuing shortage, some potential buyers may go to the other end of the country. additional costs do not play a tangible role, because this is a forced measure, since a suitable car may simply not be available in the region of residence. the car that suits them the most “, – notes Denis Migal.
Looking for a dream car
Photo: Yuri Smityuk / TASS
An important factor for neighboring shopping is also the smaller “cheats” in regional car dealerships, whose appetites are much more modest in comparison with the capital’s dealers. And the point here is not the degree of greed – in the provinces, cars at exorbitant prices simply will not be affordable for local buyers.
According to Denis Migal, there are regions where the cost of additional equipment varies greatly: in some it is 400-500 thousand rubles, in others – only 80-100 thousand.
As predicted by the Pragmatics Group of Companies, the deficit in the car market will continue to stimulate residents of megalopolises to search for cars in neighboring and more distant regions. The number of such buyers will continue to grow at least until the end of this year. In this situation, those dealers who operate car dealerships in several cities and have logistics facilities for the delivery of cars will be in a better position.
“Today, indeed, in conditions of shortage, in some cases there is a migration of clients between regions, but it is not as significant as it seems. Even before the pandemic, there were frequent cases when clients could come to St. Petersburg from Novosibirsk, and this trend has not changed much. method of delivering information and making a deal.If earlier the client had to go to the dealer’s website or classify, find the right car, contact the seller, ask a bunch of questions and only then decide who to go to, now there are often cases when clients buy a car through auction without even seeing it “live.” Just realizing the possibility of returning the car in the presence of serious defects, the client is less and less afraid of buying a car online, “says the director of marketing and digital products, investment company X 2 (owns the Autoholding RRT “) Sergey Novoselsky.
The development of technology does not stand still, and now long trips are beginning to give way to online purchases, when you don’t even have to visit the dealership, agrees Denis Migal.
“Auto-selection on the site, a detailed virtual presentation, the conclusion of a deal and delivery of the car to your home or dealership – there are no legal obstacles to this format of deals. It is rather a question of a psychological plan, because most people still prefer to look at the car” live “before purchase “, – sums up the expert.
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