Demand for electric vehicles in Russia at times exceeds supply

The Russian market for electric vehicles and hybrids may reach 20 thousand cars in 2023, according to the Russian representative office of Great Wall, expecting further growth in sales. The company, like a number of other players from China, is increasingly introducing electrified cars to the market. Dealers note that the demand for electric cars and hybrids for a number of models even exceeds supply, while the expansion of official supplies will accelerate the growth of this market and whiten it.

Sales of electric vehicles and hybrids in Russia this year will amount to about 2 thousand cars, with a total passenger car market of 1.1 million units, Haval predicts. “In 2024, this figure could more than double,” said company executive Andrei Akifev at a press conference of Great Wall Motors (Haval’s parent company).

The company launched the Ora 03 electric car on the market on October 25, and also announced that WEY hybrids will be presented in the Russian Federation at the beginning of 2024. The company does not disclose plans for sales volumes of its own brands.

Dmitry Babansky from SBS Consulting calls Haval’s forecast for the market realistic. He adds that saturating the segment with official offers will help “streamline” the market and solve problems with the service.

The Avtodom dealer notes that the growth in sales of electric cars is facilitated by the modernization of city infrastructure and a set of government support measures – a preferential transport tax rate, as well as the possibility of free travel on toll roads. By 2030, the total number of chargers for electric cars will increase to 72 thousand, the company adds, and infrastructure in the near future will no longer be a limiting factor when purchasing an electric car. In addition, the number of electric cars in the automobile market has increased due to parallel imports, they remind, noting that players from China can take a significant share of sales.

Another Chinese player, Chery, which also occupies a significant share of the Russian car market, is preparing to launch electric vehicles in the Russian Federation in 2024. In addition, Motorinvest represents the Chinese brand Voyah in the Russian Federation and produces electric vehicles from China under its own brand Evolute. Now both brands are among the top sellers in the electric vehicle market. In addition to them, the ranking of the most popular models in September included the world bestsellers Volkswagen iD.4 and Tesla Model Y, as well as the Chinese Zeekr, according to Autostat data.

Between January and September, 8.75 thousand new electric vehicles were sold in the Russian Federation, of which 1.75 thousand were sold in September, calculated “Autostat”. By the end of the year, agency analysts expect the market to grow approximately fourfold – to 12-13 thousand electric vehicles (without hybrids).

Electric models are very undemanding in maintenance, which makes their purchase more profitable compared to internal combustion engines, says Timofey Geraskin, managing director of BorisHof. “Among our customers, at least 30% choose hybrid cars, but the share of hybrids will decrease with the development of infrastructure,” he notes. “Sales of electric vehicles are growing exponentially from month to month,” adds Mr. Geraskin. “We will issue ten times more cars in October than in April. In fact, our division of electric cars “BorisHof Volt” will already transfer to customers the same volume of cars as the dealership of the official mass brand.” According to him, now some representative offices of concerns are implementing programs to support sales of electric vehicles in the form of leasing, reduced interest rates on loans or trade-in bonuses.

Director of Avilon Electro Sergei Melyukh says that maintaining a consistently high interest in electric cars is facilitated by the diversity of brands and model ranges, the introduction of a large number of new products to the market, as well as high-tech equipment and technical characteristics of the electric cars themselves. The choice is also influenced by the development of special infrastructure for electric machines. Demand for individual models, such as the hybrid Li L7 and Li L9, today exceeds supply. As Sergey Melyukh notes, hybrids continue to actively increase their market share, which today can be about 20%. At the same time, he concludes, the release of models by official distributors will certainly accelerate the development of the market, since “supplies by individuals at a reduced customs value are risky and do not inspire confidence.”

Olga Nikitina