The article examines the issue of Russian automobile transport’s dependence on foreign purchases during the First World War and the absence of a developed domestic automotive industry. For the first time, this question is explored through the prism of discussions held at public organization meetings, in the State Duma, and in the pages of periodicals. Special attention is paid to the importance of automobiles during the war, criticism of the existing situation in the automotive transport sector, the inadmissibility of its complete dependence on foreign states, and the necessity of import substitution through the creation of domestic automobile plants and related enterprises. New sources are introduced into the scholarly discourse, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of both the problems that have arisen in the field of automobile transport and their perception by Russian society. It is noted that, despite differences in approaches to organizing the domestic automotive industry, participants in the public discussion unanimously agreed on the need to overcome the situation that existed before the war, the inadmissibility of total dependence on foreign supplies in a matter of great importance to military affairs, and the urgency of developing national production of automobile transport on a state scale.