VZCZCXRO1718
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDBU RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHLN RUEHNAG RUEHPB RUEHPOD
RUEHYG
DE RUEHVK #0061/01 1320458
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120458Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1151
INFO RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION COLLECTIVE
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 1254

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VLADIVOSTOK 000061 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON RS
SUBJECT: CONFESSIONS OF VLADIVOSTOK USED CAR SALESMEN 
 
VLADIVOSTO 00000061  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  Summary.  The famous Vladivostok marketplace for used 
foreign cars called Zelyoniy Ugol ("Green Corner") has been 
experiencing a serious downturn in recent months.  New customs 
tariffs, banks' reluctance to provide consumer credit for car 
purchases, and the slumping value of the ruble have conspired to 
slow business at the market to a near standstill.  The market's 
downturn is an example of how the economic slowdown has taken 
its toll on the regional economy.  The auto dealers Econ Officer 
and FSN spoke to are pessimistic about their future and stated 
they would pack up shop if they could only get rid of their 
inventory. 
 
One-Bustling Market Now Dormant 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  With its 10,000-car lot, Zelyoniy Ugol is still the largest 
open-air used car market in Russia, and has provided steady 
income for thousands of entrepreneurs.  It has been in existence 
since 1993, and has evolved from a wild and chaotic market in 
early 1990s into a well-organized car-dealer community with 
paved roads, fenced sales lots, ancillary auto-related 
businesses, and its own website.  The market has been popular 
and well-known throughout Russia, and has served as the main 
source of automobiles for the Russian Far East and Siberia for 
over a decade. 
 
¶3.  Dealers there were very talkative to Consulate staff, 
voicing complaints about the precipitous decline in business 
since December.  One dealer mentioned that in the best times he 
was selling at least 10 cars per month, mainly to car dealers 
from Siberia who would then ship them or arrange for drivers to 
take them back.  Nowadays, there are no purchasers from the 
interior, and local visitors are few and few between.  In fact, 
by noon the Consulate staff members were the only visitors the 
dealer had seen that day.  One dealer complained that he and his 
partners have not sold a single car since December.  Another 
mentioned that only 900 cars have been delivered to Vladivostok 
during the first four months of the year, though previously 
thousands cars arrived every month. 
 
¶4.  Many of the businesses to support the trade of cars to 
Siberia -- shipping companies, drivers, and even roadside 
eateries on the way to Baikal and points further away, have gone 
out of business.  All of the dealers Econ Officer talked to 
waxed nostalgic for the prosperous years, when Siberian car 
dealers arrived in Vladivostok, mostly via the two daily flights 
from Novosibirsk.  Shoppers arrived from as far as western 
Russia and the Caucasus republics, making such long trips to 
purchase used Japanese car at one third the price of cars 
assembled in Russia. 
 
Three Main Reasons for Slow-Down 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  The main reason for the lack of customers is that banks are 
now unwilling to lend money to consumers for automobile 
purchases.  Secondly, car importers buy most of their stock in 
Japan and pay in yen.  The weakening ruble coupled with the 
continued strength of the yen have made the purchase of the cars 
much more expensive for the dealers.  Japanese-brand, U.S.-made 
cars are the second most popular at the market, but the weak 
ruble has made not only their purchase, but also shipping more 
expensive. 
 
¶6.  The recent import duty increase has also made foreign 
vehicles more expensive.  Though this issue has taken center 
stage and has proved a catalyst for recent anti-government 
demonstrations in the Russian Far East, the dealers at Zelyoniy 
Ugol did not place it at the top of their complaint list.  Most 
of the unsold cars on their lots were imported before the 
increase. Even so, all dealers spoke critically about Putin's 
protection measures for Russian auto producers and the Kremlin's 
indifference to the needs of RFE residents, and were convinced 
that the measures will not spur consumption of domestic 
vehicles.  Only better quality at lower prices will help, they 
said. 
 
¶7.  All of the dealers were skeptical that the 'temporary' 
tariff increase will be phased out in October as officially 
stated.  A Consulate contact, however, said the tariff likely 
will be discontinued, since the resultant drop in imports has 
cost the federal budget USD one billion in lost revenue. 
 
Ban on Right-Hand Drive to Mean More US Cars? 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  Some car dealers voiced concern about a move away from 
increased tariffs on Japanese cars to an outright ban on 
right-hand drive vehicles, though others are in a better 
position for such a change.  Some have already turned to the 
U.S. market, purchasing used, U.S.-produced Japanese models. 
One dealer stated that he purchases high end cars on eBay and 
 
VLADIVOSTO 00000061  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
ships them to Vladivostok via Los Angeles in 40-foot containers. 
 Each container costs USD 6,000 to ship, and can hold four 
sedans or three SUVs.  Though the shipping cost is considerably 
higher than the USD 300 cost per car from Japan, the dealer 
explained that left-hand drive vehicles are unusual in 
Vladivostok and fetch a premium.  This dealer used the example 
of Lexus SUVs to illustrate how the increased customs fees have 
hurt his business.  The first Lexus imported in December just 
before the increase required a 12,000 USD customs payment, while 
a similar vehicle shipped a mere month later incurred a USD 
24,000 customs fee. 
 
Around Tariffs -- Subsidies and 'Konstruktors' 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶9.  To offset the increased cost of Japanese imports, the 
federal government has introduced two programs.  One is to 
subsidize consumer loans for Russian-built automobiles, and the 
other is to subsidize the shipping of such cars from their 
factories in western Russia to the Far East.  Potential buyers, 
however, refuse to buy Russian-made cars -- even those of 
foreign brands -- because of their perceived lack of quality and 
higher price.  In fact, according to the Rossiskaya Gazeta, no 
one in Primorye has yet applied for the privileged car loan, and 
very few cars have been shipped by railroad under the subsidy. 
The paper reports that the few people who bought Russian Ladas 
recently did so with the intention to use them for hunting in 
forests or for fishing in remote areas, not as their everyday 
vehicle. 
 
¶10.  One way around the tariffs was to assemble 'konstruktors.' 
Dealers purchased used cars in Japan, cut the bodies in two, and 
import them as 'spare parts' with a much lower tariff.  The car 
would then be welded together in Russia and resold.  This 
business had been popular until authorities slapped a 5,000 Euro 
charge on car bodies, whole or in pieces. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11.  Though the increase in tariffs on imported autos has had a 
dramatic effect on the used car market in the Russian Far East, 
the difficultly for consumers to get financing has been an even 
larger blow.  It is too early to tell if the measures will 
increase sales for Russian-produced cars, since the economic 
crisis has likely taken a toll on sales on all cars, domestic or 
foreign.  In any case, the current tariffs will be in effect 
until at least October.  By that time, according to many of the 
dealers at the market, most of the sellers will likely have left 
the business. 
ARMBRUSTER