Recycling is now considered in a new way. What you need to know

Starting from December 1, Russia will begin to calculate recycling for passenger cars in a different way. Now, not only the volume is taken into account, but also the engine power. The author of the initiative is the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The ministry explained the innovation by the fact that demand is growing in Russia, including for electric vehicles, for which it is impossible to calculate recycling based on engine capacity. The new calculation formula and the impact of adjustments on the market are described in the Izvestia article.

What is the recycling fee?

• A recycling fee is a mandatory payment that compensates for the future costs of disposing of a vehicle when it fails. It is charged for passenger cars and trucks, buses, trailers, and special equipment. It is paid by both manufacturers, if the car is assembled at a factory in the Russian Federation, and importers or buyers of cars when importing cars from abroad. Recycling appeared in Russia in 2012.

• The amount of the fee is determined by multiplying the base rate by a special coefficient. The base rate for passenger cars is 20 thousand rubles, for trucks, buses, trailers — 150 thousand rubles. The special coefficient depends on the vehicle category, its age (does not apply to vehicles older than 30 years), the type of customs clearance (for personal or commercial use), engine volume and power.

• A progressive scale is introduced to calculate the coefficient. It is applied to cars with gasoline and diesel engines with a capacity of more than 160 hp and for electric vehicles and sequential hybrids with a capacity of more than 80 hp.

What are the benefits?

• Preferential rates for cars with popular engines with a capacity of up to 160 hp will be maintained for individuals who import cars to Russia for personal use. They amount to 3.4 thousand rubles for a new car and 5.2 thousand rubles for a model older than three years, these benefits apply to cars with an engine of no more than three liters.

• However, there are conditions for receiving benefits — only one car can be imported per year and it cannot change owners for 12 months. If the conditions are not met, the violator will have to pay the recycling fee at the corporate rate.

Why change the formula?

• Previously, engine power was not taken into account when determining the size of the scrap collection, but in Russia there is a growing demand for powerful models of cars equipped with low-volume motors, as well as for electric vehicles and sequential hybrids. In this regard, the calculation of the indicator, based only on the volume of the motor, has lost its relevance.

• In addition, the initiative will help to "whitewash" the market: a large number of cars were imported with the payment of preferential recycling rates due to the fact that the cars were registered to individuals, although they were later resold. It is expected that such a scheme will no longer work. And this will potentially solve the problem of fraud in the supply of cars from abroad - when the import is processed immediately to the buyer, and a certain agent delivers the car for a commission. The buyer has no guarantees in such a transaction.

A protective measure: how will the new recycling facility affect the market and car prices

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will not review preferential rates for car importers

• It is assumed that in 2026 the federal budget will receive 1.65 trillion rubles from the recycling fee. It is projected to grow by almost 47% compared to 2025. At the same time, 561 billion rubles can be obtained from cars imported into Russia.

• The most expensive recycling will cost owners of luxury and premium class cars Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Cadillac or sports models BMW, Lamborghini, Porsche. Their scrap collection will increase from the current 2 million to almost 7 million rubles for new cars and from 3 million to 10 million rubles for cars older than three years.

How the car market will change

• The automotive market is facing structural changes. According to forecasts, less powerful and more environmentally friendly models, including electric cars, will become more in demand. Also, an increase in recycling will become an incentive for greater localization of production in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

• At the same time, as the government says, the authorities have no plans to close the market for imported cars, because then Russian manufacturers will have no competitors, and this will hinder the development of the domestic automotive industry. At the same time, the increase in recycling will not have a serious impact on the price of Russian cars, since manufacturers are provided with subsidies. For example, according to analysts, despite the increase in the recycling fee from October 1, 2024 and its subsequent indexation from January 1, 2025, there was no significant increase in retail prices.

• Before the increase in recycling, there was a sharp surge in demand for cars on the market. Therefore, the planned increase in rates from November 1 was postponed to December 1, so that those who have already ordered a car could go through customs procedures. The planned indexation of the recycling collection will come into force on January 1, 2026.