In one block: Russia wants to create a single database of Chinese auto parts
Russia plans to create a unified database of spare parts supplied from China. Car owners and services are massively faced with difficulties when replacing them — often neither the original parts nor their analogues are suitable. The reason is the constant updating of the model range and the lack of up—to-date catalogs. Manufacturers or dealers will now keep digital records of spare parts. The measure is being worked out in the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Izvestia learned. Whether creating a database will help to avoid problems with the selection and replacement of parts is in the Izvestia article.
Digital spare parts accounting
Russia plans to introduce digital accounting of parts for Chinese cars — a vehicle card with a list of spare parts suitable for repair. Such a measure is being worked out in the State Duma, Stanislav Naumov, Deputy chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy, told Izvestia. After working with the industry community, the initiative may be sent to relevant departments for consideration in the coming months, the deputy said.
Obtaining a "digital passport" of car parts can be linked to the vehicle type approval procedure, and manufacturers and official suppliers will be required to keep such records and regularly update the unified database of auto parts, he added.
The registration of an OTT is a procedure that is carried out in specialized certification centers. Dealers undergo it to obtain permission to import cars to the Russian market. They prepare a package of documents, including a general technical description of the vehicle, an operation manual, test reports, and others.
The need to work out a new measure is due to the fact that recently owners of foreign cars and car service employees have begun to complain en masse about difficulties with repairs. Mechanics are often provided with outdated catalogs, which is why parts ordered using the VIN code arrive on a car of a different model.
First of all, the problem concerns brands from China: given their high share in the Russian market, car owners face frequent unreasonable difficulties and costs, explained Stanislav Naumov.
According to Autostat, for the first 10 months of 2025, the share of sales of new Chinese passenger cars in the Russian Federation from the entire market was 53.7%. In 2024 - 59.1%.
— When certifying each model and modification, the manufacturer will be required to upload to the state information system a complete electronic catalog of spare parts with precise reference to the VIN code of each specific car. Any change in the design that results in a change of part should require mandatory adjustments to this digital map. Such a system will make it possible to create an immutable archive of data for each machine. Current catalogs can be made available to car service stations and owners through Public Services or the MAX messenger," said Stanislav Naumov.
As a result, the time and cost of selecting spare parts will be reduced, the risk of purchasing unsuitable parts will decrease, and the transparency of the services will increase. This will better protect consumers, especially during the period when cars will start to go out of warranty en masse, the parliamentarian said.
Today, it can be difficult for car owners to determine exactly which part is needed to repair their car, said Dmitry Tortev, a member of the expert council of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition.
— Manufacturers update models without worrying about long-term support, and EAEU laboratories often do not keep up with these changes, and the OTS is issued for an average configuration. Labeling can solve the problem of counterfeiting, but it does not solve the problem of incompatibility of parts that may not fit a particular car due to internal modification," said Dmitry Tortev.
The initiative to create a digital passport of a vehicle, which is being considered in the State Duma, can solve the problem at an earlier stage — to ensure accurate identification and simplify the repair of their cars for citizens, he believes.
In his opinion, at the initial stage, manufacturers and dealers can be allowed to maintain separate databases with a list of spare parts, but in the future, combine these data into a single state system.
Which cars most often have parts that don't fit during repairs
When parts are not suitable for car repairs, we are often talking about original spare parts, Alexander Pakhomov, vice chairman of the Union of Car Service Stations of Russia, told Izvestia.
— The market is facing a constant problem of analogues of spare parts for Chinese cars. Even the original parts that come from the factory to the same model sometimes fit one car, but not another," the Service-Auto technical center explained to Izvestia.
According to Fit Service employees, there is confusion when ordering, because in addition to the variety of analogues of spare parts and their quality, even the original ones often have several almost identical options.
— Issues with the replacement of parts for Chinese cars are a constant story. There are a lot of problems with FAW. Geely and Chery have fewer, but the original parts are sometimes problematic in terms of price and quality. For example, when ordering pads on Haval, there are two types of the original: for 15 thousand, it comes in a beautiful branded package, for 3 thousand, in a simple cardboard box and a different size. There is an original sticker on both sides," the service told Izvestia.
The problem is also confirmed by users of popular automotive Internet resources. For example, FAW owner Nikolai noted in the comments to one of the communities that the service has not been improved in two years, and you have to look for spare parts yourself.
The owner of the Haval F7 said at one of the sites that the situation has become even more difficult with the new models. According to users of the Chery Tigo 7 Pro Max, it is difficult to find up-to-date spare parts catalogs, and the parts themselves often arrive unoriginal.
Izvestia sent inquiries to manufacturers from China and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Alexander Pakhomov believes that one of the key problems is the concept of one—time consumption of cars in China. Due to the economic support of manufacturers, middle-class cars are inexpensive in the domestic market. Therefore, the average Chinese owner can give up his car in five years and buy a new one. The second, and, according to the expert, the most important aspect of the problem, is the lack of necessary documentation for cars.
Ilarion Demchikov, Marketing Director of the Emex auto parts marketplace, believes that car owners whose brands are leaving the market will find themselves in an even more difficult position when replacing parts. Earlier, Sergey Tselikov, head of the Autostat analytical agency, reported that by the end of 2025, some manufacturers from China plan to leave Russia after selling off the remnants of their cars.
According to Gazprombank Car Leasing, in the first nine months of 2025, the number of Chinese car dealerships decreased to 2.6 thousand, with 491 closures for 403 openings.
What are the ways to solve the problem?
Despite the fact that Russian specialists have recently begun to work massively with the Chinese automotive industry, they have already managed to work out some ways to solve the problem.
— Of course, we have already learned something. We order two different versions of the part and select them upon arrival. Most often, we just look for analogues on the Internet on specialized sites, because there are no catalogs," a representative of Fit Service told Izvestia.
AVS-Service representatives confirmed that most often you have to rely on the selection method and act on the fact, buying several parts at once. According to Ilarion Demchikov, marketing director of the Emex spare parts marketplace, the problem lies in the frequent modifications of the Chinese automotive industry.
— European brands use the same components from the same manufacturers within the same model year or model, and spare parts for the model range do not change over the year. For Chinese brands, there may be significant changes within the same line, one modification, and even within the same calendar production. The spare parts catalog should be updated very often, but there are no such parts on the Russian market yet," the expert said.
Catalogs are now appearing, but the usual selection methods, such as cross-numbers, cannot be found, said Anton Shaparin, President of the National Automobile Union (NAS). Therefore, we have to use forums and find out information about specific details there, he added.
According to him, industry representatives appealed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade five years ago with a request to oblige manufacturers to provide complete documentation for car repairs before it enters the Russian market, and to create spare parts catalogs, publish them on the Internet and make them accessible to everyone.
The introduction of a transparent system for selecting spare parts can be an important measure that will protect citizens from unnecessary expenses and simplify the process of repairing cars, he concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
