State Duma Sets Regional Quota for Foreign Cars Owned by Self-Employed Taxi Drivers

22:10; 16 December 2025 year

The State Duma has adopted in the second reading softening amendments to the taxi law. Self-employed drivers will be allowed to legally work with non-localized vehicles (mostly foreign cars) within a set quota. This decision is intended to prevent a mass exodus of private drivers into the "gray" area and a market collapse that could have occurred after the introduction of strict requirements for vehicles. The strict localization requirements for taxi vehicles, which were to come into force on March 1, will not fully affect private individuals. The State Duma has adopted in the second reading amendments that introduce special exceptions for self-employed taxi drivers, partially allowing the use of personal foreign cars. For self-employed drivers, the bill sets a quota of 25% for the use of vehicles that do not meet the requirements for deep localization. This means that every fourth private taxi driver in the country will be able to legally work on their foreign car. Self-employed taxi drivers will not be subject to the obligation to use only vehicles from a special list of localized models (Lada, UAZ, Evolute, etc.) until January 1, 2033. The requirement will primarily affect large taxi fleets. Earlier adopted amendments will also allow self-employed individuals to work outside their permanent place of residence, removing another barrier to legal earnings. As State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin stated, this approach will ensure a "gradual and balanced transition" to a localization policy without shocking consequences for the market. Initially, the draft law obliging all taxi drivers to switch to domestic or deeply localized vehicles created obstacles for hundreds of thousands of drivers. For many self-employed drivers, especially in the regions, an urgent replacement of a foreign car with a new localized model would have been financially impossible. Experts warned that this would lead to a mass exodus of drivers into the "gray" area - to illegal transportation, car rental with a driver, or complete withdrawal from the market. The amendments are intended to prevent this. Executive Director of the Association "National Taxi Council" Natalia Lozinskaya, in an interview with "Rossiyskaya Gazeta", called the adopted measures "an absolutely correct set of measures" to support the industry and part-time workers. According to her, 72% of taxi fleets have more than half of their fleet consisting of non-localized cars. Among drivers themselves, according to a survey, only 29% drive cars that meet the requirements. An immediate adjustment would have been unrealistic. The introduction of a quota will allow "to preserve a significant number of drivers in the industry," especially in the regions. Additional amendments (on re-registration and interregional work) will remove barriers and give drivers more opportunities for legal earnings. After the third reading and approval by the Federation Council, the law will create a two-tier system: large carriers will gradually update their fleets in accordance with localization requirements, while self-employed private drivers will receive a long deferment and the right to work under a quota. The decision is intended to preserve the income of self-employed drivers and the stability of the taxi market.

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