Third of taxi companies at risk of closure in Russia due to excessively high Central Bank rates

In Russia, 20% of taxi companies may close in 2025, and another 10% of carriers are likely to leave the market by the end of 2026.

Source: representatives of several large taxi companies reported this to the Russian propaganda media outlet Izvestia

Details: They said that companies will be forced to close due to the inability to renew their vehicle fleets at the high interest rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which currently stands at 20%.

"Several taxi companies are already on the verge of closure. Some of them will not survive until the end of the year," a representative of the company Ritm told the publication.

Multi Taxi noted that young car companies that opened three years ago, on the wave of taxi demand, are primarily at risk.

"They have not yet accumulated internal reserves to survive in conditions of high leasing rates," explained Multi Taxi CEO Vasily Baranov.

Current leasing rates have made the operation of most vehicles unprofitable, and carriers have stopped renewing their fleets and are forced to extend the service life of vehicles to six years or more, noted Spartak Zabolotsky, an investor in the Shokolad taxi fleet.

"If a few years ago, pre-tax profitability was 16%, taking into account the subsequent sale of the car at half price, now it has fallen to 6%, taking into account the operation of old cars. If you work only with new leased cars, profitability falls to minus 20%," he explained.

Background: Russia is gradually exhausting its macroeconomic reserves, in particular the Russian National Wealth Fund (NWF), but its potential to further finance the war remains.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!