According to Maria Pogrebets, spokesperson for the Drom auto site, sales of new electric cars in Russia climbed fivefold in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same time last year. She claims that sales of secondhand electric cars surged by 58% over the same time period, Kommersant writes.
Mrs. Pogrebets explained that electric vehicles account for just 0.4 percent of overall automotive sales in Russia. An electric automobile costs 1.4 million rubles on average, which is twice as much as a car with an internal combustion engine (it costs an average of 632 thousand rubles).
According to experts, the Nissan Leaf is the most popular electric vehicle among Russians, accounting for 74% of total sales. Other manufacturers contribute another 15% of the market, with Tesla automobiles accounting for 11%. The luxury class and new electric vehicles are more popular in Moscow and St. Petersburg; old Nissan Leafs are usually purchased in Siberia and the Far East.
According to a Droma research, 63 percent of Russian motorists want to acquire an electric vehicle in the next several years. 28 percent of respondents postponed a purchase due to the high price and limited selection, while 23 percent did so due to a shortage of charging stations. The number of survey participants and the survey dates are not given.
According to PwC, the Russian Federation’s market for light electric cars would expand one and a half times on average every year, reaching 630 thousand units by 2030. This estimate is far lower than the government’s prediction of 1.4 million units (including light commercial vehicles).
