Russia's fully online market for new cars is still tiny — less than 1% of total sales. But in 2025, it grew 4.5 times to roughly 10,900 vehicles, according to Smart Ranking.
The unusual part is who controls it
T-Auto, part of T-Bank, accounted for about 64% of fully online new-car sales. Together with SberAuto and VTB Auto, bank-linked services represented roughly three-quarters of the market. Ozon was the second-largest individual platform.
This is more than a story about digital car loans.
From financing to organizing the purchase
In the conventional model, the bank enters at the end of the journey. The customer has already selected a car and a dealer. The bank receives somebody else's lead and competes on rate, approval speed and partner commission.
The interface, customer intent data and most of the transaction economics remain with the seller.
A bank-linked car-buying service changes that position. The customer enters the banking ecosystem to choose a vehicle, not merely to borrow money. The service meets the customer when purchase intent appears and can connect the storefront, payment, credit, insurance, trade-in, warranty and servicing in one journey.
Credit becomes one payment option inside a transaction the bank or its affiliated service helps organize.
Why banks are well positioned in Russia
They already have an identified customer, a trusted high-frequency app, payment credentials and the ability to underwrite and insure the purchase. In a high-value category, that combination can be more important than general shopping traffic.
The direction is not uniquely Russian
In separate and not directly comparable surveys, Cox Automotive found that 7% of recent US vehicle buyers completed their purchase entirely online, while 28% would prefer an all-online journey. McKinsey found that fewer than 3% of surveyed European customers bought fully online, but 29% wanted to buy their next car that way.
Those figures are not sales forecasts. A car remains expensive, infrequent and emotional, and many customers still want a test drive and physical inspection.
The showroom does not have to disappear
The dealer can remain the physical layer for the test drive, handover and service, while selection, pricing, financing and insurance move into a digital journey.
That means the next competitive frontier for banks may not be a better credit engine. It may be the moment when the customer decides what to buy.
Which high-value category will be next?
Evidence