According to the Russian tower network reported on March 2, the Russian auto parts market is full of fake and shoddy products. Due to the lack of control mechanisms, nearly a quarter of the car service business in 2023 involves counterfeit and shoddy products. Car owners worry that car beauty shops use inferior parts. They were also unhappy about increased repair times and "unnecessary maintenance work." The survey was jointly conducted by automotive service provider Fitter Services and automotive analysis firm Gruzgev Analysis Center. 1,800 car owners in 35 Russian cities took part in the survey. According to the survey, 23 percent of respondents had encountered counterfeit products, of which about 30 percent complained about oil and lubricants, 23 percent complained about spark plugs, 15 percent complained about filters, and 14 percent had encountered poor quality suspension and steering control components.
Experts believe that this situation is caused by parallel imports and, more precisely, by the lack of supervision and inspection mechanisms for certain commodity categories. In December, it was reported that Russians who own foreign-branded cars in 2023 will have to wait more than a year to buy imported auto parts, with delivery times of some parts even up to a year and a half. Among the hardest to find are parts from Japanese and Korean cars such as Toyota, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Honda, Kia and Hyundai. For the whole of last year, the price of auto parts in the Russian market increased by 7 to 17 percent. The most expensive parts are not produced in Russia, such as the price of timing belts rose by 5% to 10%, and the price of car batteries rose by 15%.
