Boycott of car companies causes unsafe cars in Russia

The government has introduced the measures by decree. Car manufacturers in Russia have a hard time getting parts that are often made abroad.

Because of the war with Ukraine, western car manufacturers have left and parts to the factories that are still open are being delivered less or not at all. The chip shortage is affecting all car companies in the world and the Russians are also having a hard time getting the necessary electronics for the cars.

Safety and environment

Cars in Russia can therefore now be produced without, among other things, the anti-lock braking system ABS and the vehicle stability control system ESP. Airbags are no longer necessary.

In addition, the environmental requirements have been weakened to the level of cars produced in 1988. The decree applies until February 1, 2023.

soviet models

Major western car manufacturers have recently stopped production in Russia. For example, Renault said this week it was selling a factory in Russia.

According to CNN, that factory will now produce a car of the Moskvich brand, which is known from the Soviet era. We are talking about more than 40 years ago.

EU sales plummet

The limited availability of parts and computer chips is causing problems for many more car manufacturers. This is evident from the most recent European sales figures.

Because sales of the number of passenger cars in the European Union fell by almost 21 percent last month. According to the European car industry association ACEA, April is the worst month ever.

684,506 new cars were sold in the EU. Sales in the European Union had also slumped in the nine months before.

Stellantis -31 percent

Due to the shortage of materials, car makers can produce fewer cars. And as a result, sales also falter. In the four major EU car markets Germany, France, Italy and Spain, the decline was more than 10 percent. In the Netherlands it was limited to a contraction of more than 7 percent to 22,087 cars.

The biggest loser is the French-Italian-American car company Stellantis, which sold 31 percent fewer copies with brands such as Fiat, Peugeot and Citroën.