Has the new taxi localisation law forced owners to sell their fleets?
This will negatively affect the profitability of the business, the expert insists
“In some taxi fleets, the share of vehicles [that do not fall under the localisation law] may reach 90%,” said Denis Poddubsky, a representative of the Public Council for Taxi Development in Udmurtia. The taxi market is now frozen in anticipation of the new law, which will come into force on 1 March 2026. However, some entrepreneurs are already trying to get rid of their taxi fleets. Options are available in different regions. Correspondents from Realnoe Vremya studied advertisements for the sale of taxi fleets on a popular online platform and, posing as buyers, contacted the sellers. Everywhere the reason for selling was the same — switching to another line of business. Yet one of the sellers claimed he had not even heard of the new amendments signed by President Vladimir Putin in May. Read more details in the newspaper’s report.
In Tatarstan, owners are in no hurry to get rid of their businesses
Several taxi fleets are being sold in the Volga Federal District, one in Novosibirsk, and the rest in Moscow. In the Saratov region, one Lada Granta is priced at 598,000 roubles. Meanwhile, the most expensive taxi fleet in the capital will cost 34 million.
There are no listings in Tatarstan. Earlier in April, two taxi fleets made up of Kia Rio vehicles were put up for sale in the republic for a total of 110 million roubles. According to a Kazan source, he currently has not “seen anyone making any moves”.
Despite the upcoming amendments, taxi fleets are selling domestic Lada Granta cars. They explained this by saying that even with the rest of the fleet fully utilised, “a couple of Granta cars are always free”.
Returning to the listings — there are two closest to Tatarstan: one in Samara for 11 million roubles and one in Saratov — 598,000 for a single vehicle. The first listing offers to buy a ready-made business with a three-year history. The cars include a JAC J7, Renault Logan, Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Hybrid, Hyundai Solaris, Chevrolet Klan and Haval Jolion.
“They have a sizeable amount of receivables which can, accordingly, be collected. In other words, the company is owed money,” representatives told the Realnoe Vremya journalist when contacted via the listing. “Their receivables amount to almost 12.7 million roubles. But at the same time there is leasing.”
Additional expenses include: 300,000 roubles for repairs and 149,000 in loan payments. With revenue of 1.1 million roubles, the monthly leasing payment is 934,500, and the total leasing debt through 2027 remains 18.4 million.
“This will lead to higher taxi prices”
The seller of the Saratov fleet did not answer Realnoe Vremya’s call. The description states that the 598,000 roubles is the price for one car with a driver. The buyer is offered passive income: “After purchase, you immediately receive daily income... One driver provides a stable 1,700 roubles six days a week. That is 10,200 roubles a week, 44,200 roubles a month. The rent can easily be raised to 1,800 roubles with the same payment schedule.”
We asked the representative of the Public Council for Taxi Development in Udmurtia, Denis Poddubsky, whether the sale of taxi fleets is related to the upcoming legislative changes.
The seller insists that it will “still be profitable” to own a fleet
The most expensive taxi fleet on sale is in Moscow: 34 million roubles for 33 vehicles (28 owned and five leased), with a promised net profit of 1.2 million roubles and no debt. It sounds good — assuming the cars, as the seller claims, will last “at least four years”. Another interesting offer from Moscow is a fleet of premium cars for 24.5 million roubles. The seller insists that the 2014–2016 Mercedes-Maybach models are “in excellent condition” and operate “at the highest tariff”, and says he is selling because he is moving into another field.
“Many taxi fleets have already leased and registered vehicles in the FGIS Taxi system that do not fall under the localisation law. In some fleets, the share of such vehicles may reach 90%. After the localisation law enters into force, fleets with such cars will face problems once the vehicles are bought out from the leasing companies, because after buyout, the ownership changes. The car then must be re-registered in the FGIS Taxi system — which will be impossible, as it does not comply with the law. Taxi companies will be forced to sell their vehicles, spare parts, and entire material and technical base. All of this will, of course, negatively affect the profitability of the business, which is why taxi fleet owners are already looking for ways out of the situation,” Poddubsky explained.
However, when contacting the listing for a taxi fleet in Elektrostal, Moscow Region, priced at 9 million roubles, the owner insisted he was selling because he was “tired of it” and wanted “to move on to something else”. When asked about the new law, he began denying that it had been signed:
“Running the business will still be profitable, everything will be the same. There is no such law. Localisation will take place, but at the moment nothing has been signed and absolutely nothing is known. According to the latest information, they are considering postponing it to 2030–2031 and leaving everything as is, because what they want to implement is practically impossible.”
His fleet consists of 16 vehicles produced in 2015, 2018 and 2019. Among them are three Renault Logan models, Hyundai Solaris cars and one Kia Rio. However, even if the licence for older vehicles does not need to be renewed under the new law, the lifespan of a vehicle is still limited:
“Taxi fleets will try to extend the service life of the cars they already have — the ones for which the material and technical base is prepared. This will inevitably lead to the ageing of ‘taxi vehicles’ and a decline in service quality. If taxi fleets are limited to certain domestic and localised brands, they will have to completely replace and restructure their entire material and technical base,” Poddubsky explained.