Since February 2022, over 20 American, European, Korean and Japanese car manufacturers have left the Russian car market. The import of new cars has stopped. And those cars, which remained at dealers, went up in price, on average, by 40-60%. A simple way out of the situation was to buy and import a car from Georgia and Kazakhstan. Moreover, it was a relevant scheme both for new cars and from the secondary market (used, restored).
But on 1 August 2023, Georgia introduced a ban on the import of cars from America to the territory of the Russian Federation. And since September 26, it applies to all European vehicles with engines over 1.9 litres, as well as with hybrid systems, electric motors. Therefore, it is still possible to buy a car in Georgia. But only small cars. But even in this category you can find a lot of decent crossovers and even SUVs (with turbocharged engines, which and 1.6 litres are more than enough to generate 167 horsepower).
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Dealerships continue to buy cars in Georgia for import to the Russian Federation. But they transport them transiting through Armenia and Iran. Due to the increased route, prices have also increased, on average, by 15 - 20%. And the transport time also had to be increased up to 3 - 4 weeks.
Among the disadvantages, it should be noted that payments and settlements are made in Georgia only in currency (most often in dollars). And the cash rate can differ from the exchange rate there up to 5% in favour of exchangers or banks. That is why the most favourable option for currency transfer is using crypto (for example, USDT, the equivalent of a dollar). You can buy these "coins" at a rate close to the rate published by the Central Bank in Russia. And in Georgia they can be immediately exchanged for cash.
The year of manufacture of the car was not taken into account for customs duties until the beginning of 2017. This is because the age of cars imported into Georgia before this year is about 15 years, and they are now quite worn out. There are also no "Japanese" in this segment (or only a few of them), because the customs rate for "right-hand drive" was tripled at that time.
Cars aged 10 years from the date of release are more expensive by 10%, it is the same amount as customs clearance. The price tag for a "veteran" is not too attractive, so local resellers reoriented to cars from overseas. But this does not mean that those cars are only American car industry. Although there are some, but mostly they are brands from all over the world, only they are brought to Georgia from the USA. Note that their appearance and technical condition is above satisfactory. The most popular of this segment:
• Toyota Camry, Prius;
• Suzuki SX4;
• Subaru Outback;
• Lexus.
Volkswagen Passat and Mercedes C, S, GLS, GLA classes were massively imported within the price range of $20-30 thousand.
Right-hand drive cars were imported to Georgia less, but still they exist, and it is possible to buy them now. They are mainly Honda Step, Nissan Serena. The price tag is about $10-15 thousand depending on the condition. Note that Honda Fit is not bad in this price range. Cars from Europe and South Korea - minivan Vito, WW Transporter, Renault Trafic, Kia, Hundai can be included in this price category.
There are two more ways to import cars from America and the EU to Russia. The first one is to transfer the car to Armenia and register it there. It will turn out to be an Armenian car. Then drive it to Russia via Georgia. Another option is to transit cars from Georgia to Russia via third-party countries.
To import a car with a motor up to 1.9 litres from Georgia to the Russian Federation on your own, you will need the following documents for customs clearance:
• passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation (for non-residents a foreign passport);
• vehicle licence for the vehicle;
• declaration of the TD-6 type;
• contract confirming the purchase;
• invoice with obligatory indication of the final price of the vehicle.
The vehicle, sales contract and invoice are issued directly by the dealer. If it is planned to import a car with a motor over 1.9 litres or with a hybrid or electric engine, importation is possible only through Armenia. The rules are similar. It does not matter through which checkpoints the car will be imported.