TYUMEN, September 17. /TASS/. A faster recovery of the Russian automotive market next year will depend on the relaxation of measures by the Bank of Russia, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov told reporters.

"I believe that, for now, the levels of interest rates and certain regulatory requirements imposed by the Central Bank on auto lending are such that I am not in a hurry to make predictions for next year. If the trend continues (toward a reduction of the key rate of the Central Bank - TASS) and some of the new restrictions and requirements introduced in January-February by Elvira Sakhipzadovna (Nabiullina, Governor of the Central Bank - TASS) are eased, returning to the levels seen before the start of this year, then we can hope for a faster, so to speak, revival, with good recovery rates. But this will depend on the decisions of the Central Bank," the minister said.

In February 2025, Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina noted that the imposition of "expensive and unnecessary" additional services on people when issuing auto loans continues, despite the fact that many banks had already agreed a year ago on the need to change approaches to auto lending. The regulator emphasized that if the situation is not corrected, the Bank of Russia will move toward stricter regulation.

Earlier, Vedomosti, citing analysts, reported that sales of new passenger cars in Russia in 2026 are expected to exceed this year’s level by 20-25%, reaching approximately 1.5-1.55 mln vehicles sold. This would bring the result close to the level achieved in 2024, the newspaper noted.