The State Duma proposed to issue cars for the birth of children

The State Duma proposed to stimulate the birth rate in Russia with certificates for the purchase of domestic cars, writes Izvestia. According to the plans of the deputies, the amount of the subsidy will be 1 million rubles, which will be available to young families up to 30 years of age after the birth of their first child.

According to one of the authors of the bill, the head of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs Yaroslav Nilov, “this will be an effective additional support measure, given the fact that Russia is currently in a demographic hole.”

He recalled that in 2022, “the minimum number of children since 2000” was born in the country, and although the state has taken a number of measures to increase the birth rate, “the situation has not changed.” “Therefore, we believe that this measure deserves support. The car itself is very necessary for a young family, because it can drive a child to kindergarten, hospital, various circles and sections. In addition to this, of course, it will support the Russian car industry,” said Nilov.

Nina Ostanina, chairwoman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, agrees with him. “Of course it is necessary to stimulate birth rate. I think that no one will refuse such a certificate, it will not be superfluous for a young family. I would support such a measure, but it is not yet clear how the government will react, ”she said, recalling that previously the Cabinet of Ministers did not allow maternity capital to be spent on the purchase of a car.

According to the act, a car purchased with a certificate can only be sold after five years – this is to exclude fraudulent schemes and fictitious marriages.

The Ministry of Finance informed that so far the document has not reached them. When this occurs, it will be dealt with in due course.

The press services of AvtoVAZ and Sollers (UAZ) declared their support for the initiative. Nikolai Matveev, deputy chairman of the All-Russian Association of Motorists, believes that this will help domestic manufacturers increase car production.

However, experts note that there is no money in the budget to support such demand for cars. The Ministry of Industry and Trade promises to allocate additional funds, but it is not known whether this will happen.

According to Igor Morzharetto, a partner of the Avtostat analytical agency, any such programs should be consumer-oriented. “Now, under the current car programs, they actually subsidize the bank. Customers get a discount on the initial fee, and credit organizations get the missing amount. And they are still trying to pawn additional products, such as unemployment insurance, ”the expert noted.

In Russia, there is a program of preferential car loans, which, among other things, applies to families with one or more minor children. The state gives them the opportunity to take out a loan and get a discount on the purchase of an electric car UAZ, LADA, GAZ, Haval Jolion or Evolute. The money is not given out, but added to the down payment, so the authorities compensate the bank for this amount in the form of a grant.

In 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Trade allocated 5.1 billion rubles to the program. But most of these funds were selected back in February. AvtoVAZ CEO Maxim Sokolov said that only 1.5 billion rubles remained, and these funds are reserved only for the sale of electric vehicles.

Earlier, the Kremlin acknowledged the failure of the government’s attempts to improve the birth rate in Russia. “So far we have failed in demographics. And actually, <...> we are now in a very difficult demographic situation, ”said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the president.

According to Rosstat, in 2022 the number of children born in Russia decreased by 96,000. to 1.306 million and became the lowest since 2001. Nationwide, the birth rate was 1.5 times lower than the death rate (1.905 million). At the same time, in 54 regions, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births by 1.5–2.7 times.

According to demographer Oleksiy Raksha, against the backdrop of the ongoing war with Ukraine, the situation will only get worse. Already in the first quarter of 2023, the number of births in Russia fell by another 2.9% to 311.1 thousand. kids.