Explosive report: 1,300 luxury cars allegedly arrived in Russia despite sanctions

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Are the sanctions against Russia working? This question is raised by an explosive analysis by the Russian magazine “Verstka” based on customs data. While aviation, for example, is undeniably having difficulty with the punitive measures taken by the EU and the US, another sector apparently has hardly any problems. This means luxury cars. Despite the sanctions imposed in March 2022, many expensive cars still come to Russia, according to ‘Verstka’.

Since March 2022, a total of 1,319 luxury cars with a total value of the equivalent of 207 million francs are said to have arrived in Russia. The independent Russian news portal lists twelve companies whose flashy vehicles worth at least 90,000 francs ended up in the empire of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin (71). The favorite of the Russians seems to be the Land Rover brand.

Cars come via third countries

At least 551 vehicles from the British car manufacturer, which specializes in off-road vehicles, have crossed the border since the sanctions were introduced. This is followed by the German manufacturers Mercedes-Benz with 226 cars and Porsche with 177 cars. Moreover, at least 104 BMWs, 99 Audis, 97 Toyotas, 9 Cadillacs, 7 Rolls-Royces, 6 Jeeps and one Maserati were imported during the 19 sanctioned months.

But that’s not all: 32 Lamborghinis and 10 Ferraris also entered the country. The most expensive imported car was a Ferrari 812 Competizione with 800 hp, worth about 560,000 francs.

But how do these vehicles get to Russia in the first place? According to “Verstka”, the cars are mainly imported to third countries through intermediaries. According to the portal’s research, these are often companies based in Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Belarus.

Domestic brands for ordinary people

Customs data shows that efficiency in circumventing sanctions is increasing. In the first nine and a half months after the bans were introduced in the period from March 2022 to the end of 2022, only 378 luxury vehicles arrived in Russia. The influx increased again at the beginning of 2023 and from January to October there were no fewer than 941 luxury cars.

After the Russian war of aggression began in Ukraine, many car companies not only stopped exporting to Russia, but also closed their production facilities in the country. The French car manufacturer Renault did this. 45,000 workers were suddenly unemployed. If you cannot afford to import a luxury car, you should switch to domestic brands.

Source: Blick