The Arbitration Court of Primorsky Krai has banned the import of right-hand drive and hybrid cars into Russia, confirming the legitimacy of the revocation of accreditation of local laboratories by Rosakkreditatsiya. According to Mash, in February 2025, several testing centers in Vladivostok lost the right to issue vehicle design safety certificates (SBKTS) and electronic PTS (EPTS). One of the firms tried to challenge this in court, but the department responded with an unscheduled inspection, canceling at least ten such documents for right-hand drive and hybrids. The court sided with Rosakkreditatsiya, obliging them to strictly check cars according to paragraph 13 of Appendix No. 8: low beam headlights must not dazzle oncoming traffic in right-hand traffic.
For right-hand drive cars, the problem is fatal - their optics are designed for left-hand traffic, the left headlight shines brighter than the right, which is prohibited. Retrofitting headlights is also prohibited: traces of modification are regarded as a violation. Hybrids are even worse off - now emissions need to be measured not on paper, but with a special device at idle, but many models switch to battery at idle, where the internal combustion engine does not work. Laboratories simply cannot cope with the new rules, and any issued SBKTS can be revoked based on this precedent.
The share of right-hand drive cars in Russia is 8.8%, but they dominate in the Far East with 73%. In the first six months of 2025, over 100,000 such cars were imported, and now the flow may dry up. The Federation Council has already discussed a phased ban with state support for owners, citing safety: according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, deaths in accidents involving right-hand drive cars are 12% more frequent. However, Yan Haitseer, vice president of the National Automobile Union, warns that residents of the Far East and Siberia will be left without affordable alternatives, and the market will collapse. Hybrids are also under threat - their share is growing, but inspections will block imports. While this is not a federal law, the precedent works, and the authorities may tighten the rules.