At the same press conference, PAIRP announced that they intend to develop a unique set of security requirements for passengers cars for the Russian market over the next 12 to 18 months. To do this they also announced that they will continue their partnership with the Thatcham for the forseeable future.

^{*PAIRP were previously known as the Professional Association for the Risk Prevention of Vehicle Theft (PARP)}

2009 security test results

PAIRP tested 21 passenger cars from 13 different foreign vehicle manufacturers. Most of the cars were chosen to be tested because they are considered to be the most “at risk” of being stolen by the Russian insurers.

The cars were assessed using the UK New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA) criteria and the testing was supported by vehicle security engineers from Thatcham. PAIRP used the results of the NVSA to calculate star ratings for the theft of and theft from performance for each car. The star ratings for the Russian models have been compared to the star ratings for the equivalent UK cars to assess the gap between the Russian LHD models and the UK RHD ones.

None of the 21 Russian cars tested in July 2009 had the same level of security features as the equivalent UK models – every single car tested that had a UK equivalent recieved a lower rating. The Audi A8L and the Volskwagen Touareg were the top performers; both scoring 5 stars for theft of and 3 stars for theft from. The European brands out-performed all the other manufacturers by some way – an indication that the global security strategies of the European manufacturers could be much stronger than the strategies of brands from the USA and Asia.

2009 PAIRP security test results.pdf (157.35 kb)

[For more information on the theft situation in Russia, please contact SBD by emailing jappleby@sbd.co.uk.]

Russia specific security requirements

PAIRP’s decision to develop their own set of passenger car security requirements comes after almost three years of research into the success of different requirements in other countries.

PAIRP was established in late 2006 and for the past two years they have worked closely with vehicle security experts from Thatcham in the UK. Together they have conducted vehicle specific testing on a total of 32 different cars on sale in Russia. This led many observers to predict that PAIRP would adopt the UK NVSA because of its status as a globally recognised standard for security; a move that would mirror the action taken by the Swedish Insurance Association (TFF) who adopted the NVSA at the beginning of 2009.

However, the car theft situation in Russia is unique and unlike any other market in the world. Organised gangs are prevalent, and they have a highly skilled network of gang members skilled in different aspects of car theft – electronic specialists capable of overcoming the majority of OEM security systems through to gang members who are skilled in changing the identity of a car once it has been stolen. This has resulted in PAIRP deciding that the best approach is to develop unique security requirements for the Russian market.

For more information about SBD’s research and strategic consulting for world markets, then contact SBD by emailing jappleby@sbd.co.uk