Putin signs new ‘made in Russia’ taxi law
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law promoting the local production of taxicabs used in the country. The relevant document was published on the state portal for legal information on Friday.
According to the legislation, passenger cars would have to meet two conditions in order to be included in the taxi registry: either score a sufficient number of localization points or be produced under a special investment contract signed between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2025.
A vehicle scores localization points for the use of Russian components and raw materials or for being assembled in the country.
The required level of localization, which is currently 3,200 points, is slated to be increased to 3,700 points in 2028.
The new rules will go into force in most of Russia’s regions on March 1, 2026. They will not apply to vehicles added to the taxi registry before that date.
The bill on the localization of taxicabs was introduced in the Russian parliament in 2023 and voted on by MPs earlier this month.
One of the authors of the initiative, Andrey Kutepov, who heads the Committee on Economic Policy at the Russian Federation Council, said on Wednesday that “the taxi fleet remains vulnerable in view of sanctions pressure” on Russia by the West.
The law will allow the Russian automobile industry to sell between 40,000 and 50,000 extra vehicles every year, while also providing an additional 10 to 12 billion rubles ($124-150 million) in tax revenues for the state, Kutepov argued.
