The RAUIE proposed the creation of a working group to coordinate safety standards for Russian and Chinese automobiles

On April 18th, a conference on "Harmonization of Safety Standards for Wheel Vehicles in Russia and China" was held at the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, organized by the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Russian-Chinese Committee for Friendship, Peace and Development, and the Association of Chinese Automakers in Russia with the support of the Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights.

Experts discussed the current state of the market and problems arising from the lack of unified standards. It was proposed to create a working group to address these issues, as well as to appeal to the permanent Russian-Chinese standardization group with a proposal to create a subgroup to coordinate standards in the field of safety of wheel vehicles.

Andrey Daudrik, the Head of the Social Research and Consulting Department of the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), introduced a survey on the attitudes of Russians towards Chinese cars, demonstrating the results of a nationwide sociological study. Among other things, he noted that Chinese cars are currently ranked fifth in terms of country preferences, listing the characteristics that respondents highlight as positive and negative. Moreover, in the next five years, around a quarter of Russians plan to purchase a car, with 7% planning to do so this year, and 11% within 2–3 years.

Alexander Tsypin, the Director of Strategic Projects at the RAUIE, spoke about the key differences between the EAEU and Chinese certification systems and what they are based on. He highlighted the main reasons for the problems that have arisen: "China is not a party to the Geneva and Vienna agreements, the testing protocols used by Chinese manufacturers in their certification system are not recognized in Russia. At the same time, over 100 models of cars from China have appeared on the Russian market in recent years, significantly overloading the capabilities of testing laboratories and certification bodies."

The certification situation has also affected the accessibility of cars for the population due to the costs of this procedure, which can amount to tens of billions of rubles and, accordingly, are reflected in their cost.

The requirements for standardization in the field of wheeled vehicles were outlined by the head of the standardization department in the industrial sectors of the Rosstandart Standardization Management Viacheslav Tutaev. He elaborated in detail on the resolutions and technical committees regulating this area.

The general director of InfoTechRazvitie LLC, Pavel Buryanov, highlighted the peculiarities of assessing the compliance of Chinese vehicles within the customs union, also focusing on details and equipment.

On how to solve the problem and the possibilities of harmonizing technical regulations between Russia and China in the automotive industry, acting director of the Center for Assessment of Compliance of Vehicles and their Components at the NAMI Federal State Unitary Enterprise Alexander Makushkin spoke. "Russia, as a contracting party of the Geneva Agreement since 1987, can become a reliable assistant to China in matters of compliance with these agreements and confirmation of compliance for access to international markets," he added.

The topic of the impact of standards on businesses, risks of fleet replacement, and potential development slowdown were raised by the procurement department head of RULOG LLC Denis Nechetyaluk. He noted that besides Russian companies and consumers facing a lack of familiar standards required for vehicles, there is also a lack of equipment operation experience.

After discussing safety standards, participants also talked about the intricacies of translation in the localization of the automotive business, difficulties due to incorrect translation of technical manuals and specifications (report by Evgenia Zababurina and Oksana Arshakuni, Neotek) and the experience of ownership - insurance as a factor in choosing a car (report by Denis Morozov, Ingosstrakh).

The event was attended by over 150 automotive companies from China, representatives of Geely, GAZ, Avtovaz, etc.

Following the conference, proposals will be developed jointly with representatives of the SATR Fund and the Department of Technical Regulation of the EAEU for submission to the Government of the Russian Federation, the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Investment Cooperation, and at the Beijing Auto Show - 2024.