OREANDA-NEWS  The Japanese authorities have lifted a ban on the supply of so-called soft hybrid cars to Russia. This is reported by Vladivostok Online with reference to Denis Malykh, an expert in the field of buying used cars from Japan.

Analysts consider cars that use an electric motor, but are not able to move solely on electricity, to be among the "soft hybrids". In such machines, an electric motor works only as an assistant for a gasoline engine.

We are talking about sanctions relief in relation to a number of similar machines. So, at auctions, you can buy and deliver to Russia, for example, Honda Insight cars with a one and a half liter engine, Suzuki Solio, Ignis, Swift, Hustler, Alto, Xbee, as well as Honda CR-Z and Nissan Dayz, the analyst said.

He noted that the tariffs for the import of the above-mentioned machines into the Russian Federation remain the same as for other models allowed for import into Russia. The expert attributed such sanctions relief, among other things, to a drop in demand for Japanese cars on the world market. "Therefore, they are starting to ease restrictions, but they cannot immediately lift all sanctions," Malykh explained.

Earlier, the Autostat agency, citing its own statistical data, reported a sharp increase in the import of foreign cars to Russia. According to the results of the first month of autumn, a total of 146.9 thousand passenger cars were imported into the Russian Federation, which was a record figure for the last 16 years. In September, exports of cars to Russia from Japan increased by 132.2 percent year-on-year.