When you are saving for a car, you want to know how much more you still need. You can give up an expensive trim level, postpone a holiday, or keep driving your old car for longer. But there is one part of the future bill that cannot be negotiated: a mandatory payment to the state. And for the car you have chosen, that payment may increase while you are still saving for it.
For a new passenger car with a conventional 1.5-litre internal combustion engine and a power output of 130 kW, the recycling fee under the current schedule is RUB 900,000 in 2026 and RUB 990,000 in 2027. If a private buyer imports such a car directly into Russia from a country outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the buyer will pay RUB 90,000 more on this item alone.
| 2026 | 2027 | Difference in recycling fee |
|---|---|---|
| RUB 900,000 | RUB 990,000 | +RUB 90,000 |
New 2026 M1 passenger car, conventional 1.5-litre internal combustion engine, 130 kW, imported directly into Russia from outside the EAEU and released in Russia. The comparison covers the recycling fee only.
Open the example calculation and adjust the parametersThe Next Increase Is Already in the Schedule
On 23 September 2026, media outlets reported the next increase in the recycling fee from 1 January 2027, citing the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Depending on the type of vehicle or equipment, the ministry refers to an increase of 10–20%. This is another stage in the long-term indexation launched by decisions taken in 2024. A little more than three months remain before the next increase.
For industry, such a schedule offers predictability. Buyers are also told in advance which part of their costs will rise. The difference is that they still have to find the money to cover it. That is why the debate over the recycling fee ultimately comes down to a very personal question: what kind of car will a buyer be able to afford, and what will they receive in return for a burden explained by the development of domestic production?
The Ministry of Industry and Trade links the indexation to investment and localisation. There is a clear logic to this: producing cars requires factories, equipment, suppliers and decisions made years in advance. Manufacturers need to know the conditions in which they will operate. A schedule announced in advance allows those conditions to be factored into their calculations.
But buyers also make plans years ahead. They want to know whether, within the time given to industry, a car will appear that suits them in price, reliability, size and maintenance costs. Support for production becomes convincing to buyers when its result can be seen in a purchase they can actually afford.
What Is the Buyer Actually Paying For?
The recycling fee raises this question particularly sharply because of its own name. The name points to a car that will one day reach the end of its service life. The law does indeed link the payment to environmental safety. Yet in the public explanation of the next increase, investment and localisation come to the fore. These goals can be discussed at the same time, but buyers are entitled to ask what results will be used to assess each of them.
The recycling fee applies both to vehicles imported into Russia and to vehicles produced in Russia; the law provides for exceptions. The proceeds go to the budget.
For someone importing a car personally, the increase in the relevant payment is set by the schedule. The showroom price is more complicated: a seller may pass on additional costs in full or in part, or change its own margin. The final price is also affected by the exchange rate, delivery costs and the price of the car itself. Therefore, a 10% increase in the fee does not mean the price of the car will rise by the same percentage.
For some personal imports, the preferential amounts of RUB 3,400 and RUB 5,200 remain available. They apply to vehicles that meet the conditions for personal import, with an internal combustion engine of no more than three litres and power of up to and including 160 metric horsepower. The car used in our calculation is more powerful than that threshold.
Yet the very existence of that threshold affects the choice. Engine power is connected both with how a car behaves on the road and with the size of the mandatory payment. A buyer can choose a less powerful car. But then the choice itself is being adjusted to the rules of the fee, which is also one of the practical effects of the policy.
The Planned Increase and the Buyer’s Budget
An industrial project takes time, and expecting an immediate result would make little sense. But the period before that result arrives also has a cost. A buyer on a limited budget may have to keep driving an older car for longer, settle for a different option or spend more. The word “planned” explains why the increase could be anticipated. It does not make it any easier to absorb through one’s own budget.
The recycling fee schedule itself establishes the future payment; it does not promise a particular price or a suitable model. A possible benefit will emerge if industrial policy gives buyers a car that is competitive in both price and quality. That result has to be assessed separately from production volumes. Producing more cars and making the right car affordable for a particular family are different tasks.
It is the affordability of the purchase that I would put at the centre of the discussion before the January increase. Someone saving for a car has a clear way to judge support for the industry: has it brought them closer to a car they can afford? In our calculation, the additional RUB 90,000 has already been determined. What the buyer will be able to receive in return for the growing burden deserves an equally concrete discussion.