New car imports were well below February levels in August, data from Russian analytical agency Autostat showed, but those of used cars more than doubled to 23,117 from 11,055.
The vast majority, 76%, of used cars were imported from Japan, with Belarus distant second with a 5.3% share, the data showed.
Almost 70% of the 10,257 new cars imported in August came from China, the data showed.
"One dealership, due to a lack of deliveries of new cars, has pivoted to selling and leasing used cars," the central bank said.
In January-September, new car sales were down almost 60% to 506,661 units.