BMW Catches Dealer Exporting Cars To Russia

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, countries around the world instituted all kinds of sanctions to make it difficult to do business in Russia. Many of these sanctions and other actions focused on rich Russian oligarchs, forbidding them from purchasing luxury goods and cars like a BMW 7 Series in Russia and confiscating property such as yachts. Of course, that doesn’t change the demand for such goods, and that leads to smuggling. One of the latest examples was reported on by Business Insider in Germany. It involved a dealer that managed to get more than 100 cars to Russia.

From Germany Without Love

According to the news outlet, a dealer in Hanover and a number of its employees were responsible for the illegal exports. The cars involved weren’t specified clearly, but were all from BMW Group brands. When Business Insider reached out to BMW, the automaker confirmed that the exports had occurred, and it has made sure all the employees involved have been fired.

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The company went on to explain that it does take steps to avoid situations like this. It keeps an eye out for suspicious-looking orders and is willing and able to cancel orders if it believes they might violate sanctions. It’s not the only company to do so either. Business Insider also spoke with Mercedes-Benz about how it’s preventing exports to Russia, and it pointed to its high scrutiny of vehicle orders, particularly for high-end products such as the G-Class and S-Class. It requests large amounts of information about some of those orders to ensure they’re legitimate.

Multiple car companies completely ended their business ties in Russia after the invasion, shutting down factories, divesting from dealer networks, and stopping deliveries of vehicles. They don’t just include luxury automakers either. Ford also pulled out of the country, as did Hyundai and Toyota, with others leaving following the invasion. This led to Russia hastily bringing old vehicle plants online from its homegrown automakers.

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Grey-Market Vehicles Have Been A Struggle For Years

The fight against illegal exports of vehicles is something that has been a struggle for many years. Perhaps one of the most visible of recent years has been Toyota pickup trucks being used by terrorist organizations. Some Western luxury cars have also appeared in North Korea. Obviously, none of these automakers are actively selling cars to dangerous parties, and take steps to avoid doing so. But, as the BMW dealer shows, some can get out.

Plus, as BMW pointed out to Business Insider, companies can’t do much about vehicles once they’re in the used market. So a new car could be sold to a buyer who would be technically legal, but that person can sell it on, either on purpose or by accident, to someone that takes it across a border somewhere. There’s probably no perfect solution, and automakers and governments will simply have to be vigilant and do the best they can to keep cars from ending up in the wrong hands.

Source:
Business Insider
Business Insider
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