Damage that is not replenishable: why Europlan does not give cars to residents of the North Caucasus

Irina Mishina

Europlan declined to comment on the reasons for this decision. But at the same time, they explained in sufficient detail all the nuances of their ban.

“On a vehicle rented from us, you will not be able to enter the territory of the North Caucasus. Also, if our client has a permanent residence permit in one of the settlements of the North Caucasus region, we are forced to refuse him. For legal entities, these rules also apply. We remind you that we offer non-repayable rental cars of premium brands such as Audi A4, BMV of the third series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, BMV X7, Porshe Cayenne and others, ”the leasing company explained.

For our part, we did not torture the company's clerks with the question of where they generally found "the territory of the North Caucasus" on the map of Russia. Such a subject of the Federation does not exist and never existed, just as there was no mythical "North Caucasian region" as a single administrative space. There are Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Adygea. But there is the Krasnodar Territory, and Stavropol, and Rostov Region, which are also considered the conditional Northern Caucasus and certainly the Southern Federal District with the capital in Rostov.

But why did the representatives of the North Caucasian peoples not please Europlan so much? The rules of this leasing company seem all the more strange since Europlan was acquired in 2015 by structures of Mikhail Gutseriev, an ethnic Ingush.

Nevertheless: “We do not limit you - you can use the car by subscription throughout Russia, except for the North Caucasus region. Traveling abroad is also available, ”Europlan warns in its rules.

Among those born in the North Caucasus, a wave of protest has already risen in this regard.

“For me, such rules are wildness. I find them offensive. And all this is very reminiscent of discrimination. Such orders may give rise to contradictions that will lead to conflicts with this company. Last year I was in Pyatigorsk - there are not only top-ranking officials, very many drive premium cars. Bad, cheap cars in the city I have not seen. At one time they said and wrote that immigrants from the North Caucasus steal foreign cars in large cities. But personally, I do not know about such facts. It is generally accepted that Caucasians are “hot people”. But accident rate does not depend on nationality! If you want to know my opinion, the cause of many accidents is the quality of the roads and the lack of normal service stations. In Africa, roads are better than in Russia! And for some reason we are looking for the causes of accidents in the nationality, ”said Grozny, a native of Grozny, head of the Department of World Economy at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, a former politician Ruslan Khasbulatov.

The singer Mark Tishman, a native of Makhachkala, agrees with him, whose childhood and youth were spent in Dagestan: “I am against any discrimination on the basis of origin or nationality. And this is exactly what is happening here. I have my own car, purchased. But to not rent a car on a national basis is at least strange”, - said Mark Tishman.

However, the auto experts with whom we discussed this topic are completely on the side of Europlan.

“Europlan lessor” is a company that rents out vehicles without the right to purchase for temporary use to the lessee and ultimately makes a profit. Therefore, the experts of this company calculate all the risks. According to the traffic police website, the accident rate in the North Caucasus Federal District is almost twice as high as in the bulk of the Russian regions”, - says Peter Shkumatov, coordinator of the Blue Buckets movement. - In addition, this region is known for its criminal schemes. By prohibiting entry into the North Caucasus region by car, Europlan simply reduces the risks. This is normal loss protection.

Why aren’t cars leased to people registered in the North Caucasus? Everything is very simple. Suppose a car rented by a person with a residence permit in the North Caucasus had an accident in Moscow. If serious claims arise, they will have to sue in Makhachkala, Grozny, Mineralnye Vody ... That is, in a criminalized region where family and family ties are strong. I want to say that Europlan acted fairly honestly, having officially notified that it is forbidden to use their cars by subscription in all regions of Russia, except the North Caucasus. Because other leasing companies do not explain anything to customers from the North Caucasus. They just refuse to rent and that's it. In the end, the leasing company has the right to set its own rules. And if a native of the North Caucasus wants to drive a premium car, he can buy it. Yes, it’s a little expensive, but you can not take a new car and drive wherever you want, ”said Petr Shkumatov.

Other car experts are of the opinion that in the North Caucasus the level of theft of premium cars is quite high. This point of view is held, in particular, by auto expert Igor Morzharetto.

“How is car insurance calculated? The calculation of the parameters according to CASCO includes, not least, the probability of car theft. And here they look at the percentage of hijackings in the region, at the accident rate. The same is with the issue of a car for rent. The company simply calculated, in all likelihood, that in the North Caucasus these figures are many times higher than in other regions. Losses that could potentially be caused by premium cars in the North Caucasus region, obviously, make the owners of Europalan play safe and take such unpopular steps. I understand that this should be unpleasant for motorists from the North Caucasus, but with this level of accident it is really easier to buy your own car, it’s better used. By the way, I was in Chechnya not so long ago: the whole circle of Ramzan Kadyrov drives premium cars and, interestingly, these are their personal cars”, - auto expert Igor Morzharetto told NI.

By the way, recently, Rambler announced an interesting study that was carried out using the telemetry equipment of the Mate System company. It was installed on 14 thousand vehicles that had CASCO insurance. Thanks to these systems, it was possible to determine the accident rate in various regions of Russia. For 2019, the North-Caucasian Federal District was recognized as perhaps the most dangerous region in the country. The Chechen Republic and the Republic of Ingushetia, according to studies, received a joint accident rating of 75.1 points. This is many times higher than the average accident rate in other Russian regions.

So in this case, Europlan employees may well use the common phrase: "Nothing personal. Just business". And the actions of businessmen quite clearly show the level of attitude towards the law enforcement and judicial system of Russia, which is not able to protect the interests of owners in large territories, whatever they are called.