“It is premature to talk about profitable business at charging stations”

The government this year launched a program to subsidize the installation of Russian-made electric charging stations (ECS) for electric vehicles. According to the plans of the government, by 2024, 3,000 stations should operate in the Russian Federation. Whether it will be possible to fulfill the plans and when this business will become profitable without the help of the state, Kommersant was told by the deputy general director for the development of civilian products of KRET JSC (part of Rostec) Maxim Motorin.

— The government has launched a program to support the development of the EZS network in 15 regions. Do you participate in it?

— The main participants of the program are the operators of the network of charging stations — our customers. Operators purchase equipment manufactured by our concern, install it, maintain it and provide charging services.

Why don’t you want to become an operator yourself?

— We postponed the idea of ​​becoming an operator to a more mature stage of development of this market. Taking into account the current foreign policy situation, a number of forecasts for the growth of environmentally friendly transport and the large-scale launch of mass production of domestic electric transport are more likely to follow a pessimistic scenario. At this stage, it is extremely important for the development of the market to develop and produce in the right volume a product with a high level of localization.

– The recommended price of one EZS is 3 million rubles. Do you fit into this price?

– I’ll explain a little. The operator has the opportunity to compensate 60% of the cost of EZS, but not more than 1.86 million rubles, and up to 30% of the cost of technological connection to power grids, but not more than 900 thousand rubles. Using simple calculations, the price of the station, for which the operator will receive a subsidy from the state, is 3.1 million rubles. Charging stations of JSC KRET cost 3.6 million rubles, which is slightly higher than the recommended price. But we give a guarantee of 60 months for equipment, which no manufacturer can boast of yet.

— Are there any problems with imported components?

– Foreign policy has made its own adjustments both to the schedules for the supply of components and to the structure of the market as a whole. Foreign competitors left, which, of course, opened up new opportunities for us. We work closely with Rostec companies, we have rebuilt logistics schemes and taken into account new realities in the production schedule, we do not experience a shortage, products are produced in the required volume by enterprises.

— Last year, about 600 EZS operated in Russia. The government wants to increase their number to 3,000 by 2024. Are the plans feasible?

— The whole world is switching to electric transport in order to reduce the amount of harmful emissions. The task of each state is to create the conditions for such a transition. The development of electric transport directly depends on the development of charging infrastructure. We, as manufacturers, are ready to provide the market with a hardware and software solution in the required volume. The question is different: will there be demand for the created infrastructure. Of course, a number of government support measures are pushing domestic automakers to progress. However, the issue with the production of batteries, the main and most expensive component in an electric car, has not yet been resolved. This issue is currently being worked out at the level of Rostec. Perhaps in the near future we will be able to discuss the forecasts and their implementation in more detail.

— What market share do you want to take in the EZS subsidy program?

– The current market share for AC stations is 25%, DC – 18%. Already next year we plan to increase the share to 30-35%. The market for charging infrastructure solution providers is emerging. The list of manufacturers is small, but growing rapidly. We know our competitors – relatively young and small companies. Taking into account the restrictions on current assets and production capacities of our competitors, we forecast an increase in the current share of our company to 35-45%.

— How are the competitions for the choice of operators in the regions going?

— Operators declare to the relevant ministries indicating the equipment planned for delivery and worked out locations for installation. Locations are selected according to the following criteria: in particular, the availability of power grid capacity or the ability to supply it, the presence of points of attraction within walking distance – the charging time of an electric vehicle is 15–40 minutes. While a number of mechanisms for the interaction of market players have not been fully developed in practice, procedural issues are not resolved as quickly as we would like.

– The cost of the station or the cost of the charging session is not taken into account in any way at the competitions?

– Not. Market laws apply.

— In what regions do you participate in competitions together with operators?

— The Concern, in cooperation with operators, is working in all regions indicated in the roadmap for the development of electric vehicles. These are the Moscow, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod regions, Krasnodar Territory, Sakhalin, Tatarstan, Crimea and Sevastopol, the M-4 Don federal highway.

– Can you name the operators with whom you cooperate?

— State and private structures.

– At first it was proposed to subsidize stations for at least 150 kW, but then the bar was lowered. Why?

— Yes, the bar has been reduced to 90 kW by the end of the year. Obviously, the infrastructure is being created for the future, so starting next year we will be mass-producing EZS with a capacity of 150 kW.

— A mandatory Chinese GB/T connector has been added to the technical parameters of the EZS. Do you think this is correct?

– Yes. The number of electric vehicles in Russia will increase. Among imported brands, Chinese models have an advantage, since there are problems with the supply of European cars to Russia. Today, the main fleet of electric vehicles in the Russian Federation is represented by cars with a CHAdeMO connector. There are also European electric vehicles, but in the future, I believe, CCS will lose ground due to Europe’s refusal to export.

– When will the installation of EZS become a profitable business without subsidies?

– World experience shows that the primary period of market formation of 15-20 years occurs with the participation of the state in the form of incentive mechanisms. It is premature to talk about a profitable business at charging stations. Rather, it is the period of 2027-2030, when the market turbulence will decrease, the rules will be accepted and enforced.

— How much money do you plan to invest in the production of EZS?

— We traditionally spend the bulk of our investments on the development of software and hardware solutions. It is quite expensive to produce products in an emerging market: the market regularly updates technical and technological updates, which entails an increase in the cost of creating and finalizing a product. The concern received a loan from the Industrial Development Fund in the amount of 277 million rubles. In addition, we are investing a total of about 150 million rubles more. own funds. Given the existing demand for EZS, we plan to increase production capacity tenfold and achieve the following parameters – 1000 units of DC products per year, 500 units of AC.

Interviewed by Polina Smertina