In June, imports of passenger cars from Russia to Kazakhstan decreased to a symbolic $72 – in April, deliveries were estimated at $5.5 million. The collapse occurred after a sharp increase in the recycling fee for cars from Russia and Belarus, turning the previous price advantage of Russian cars into an additional multi-million dollar burden.
For comparison, in January, deliveries of Russian passenger cars were estimated at approximately $1 million, in February and March – at $1.5 million monthly. After the April peak of $5.5 million, the figure in May fell to $111.4 thousand, and in June – to just $72. That is, in just two months, the monetary volume of deliveries decreased by approximately 76 thousand times.
The turning point coincided with the entry into force of new rules for calculating the recycling fee. According to the Kazakh methodology, a separate coefficient is applied to cars from Russia and Belarus: for cars with an engine of 1001–2000 cm³, it is 136 compared to 3.5 for cars from other countries.
Russian brands, especially Lada, were most affected in the market, and deliveries of GAZ and UAZ also decreased. At the same time, the Kazakh car market continues to function: in August, official dealers sold 19,104 new passenger and commercial vehicles, which is 6.3% higher than the figure for August 2025.
The increase in the recycling fee in Kazakhstan was called a mirror measure by the country's authorities in response to Russian rules. The Minister of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan, Ersayin Nagaspayev, stated in March that the republic is not introducing separate innovations against the Russian market, but is repeating Russia's approach: earlier, Moscow increased the recycling fee for cars from Kazakhstan tenfold, and the rate should grow on a progressive scale.