Electric vehicle sales in Russia fell almost 30% over the year

According to Avtostat, in September the Chinese brand Zeekr became the leader among electric cars in the Russian market with 586 cars sold, Moskvich’s sales multiplied by six, up to 157 units. In third place is Ora (Haval sub-brand) with 74 cars sold.

At the same time, the market has been contracting for three months in a row and the pace of decline is accelerating. In July the decrease was 1%, in August 12%. Autostat explains this by changing the rules: from April 1, electric vehicles, even those from EAEU countries, will only be able to pass through customs in Russia. In March 2024, a month before the changes, a record 2.5 thousand new electric vehicles were sold, 3.5 times more than in the same period in 2023.

Rolf and Avalon expect the market to continue falling in October. “The cold is coming and it has never helped sell electric cars. In cold weather the battery discharges faster,” Nikolai Ivanov, director of Rolf’s new vehicle sales department, told Kommersant.

Other experts believe that demand for electric vehicles could increase later this year due to an increase in recycling fees starting in 2025. According to Autostat’s Sergei Udalov, between 17,000 and 18,000 new electric vehicles could be sold in Russia in 2024. , which represents more than 14,000 units in 2023.

In April 2024, Strategy Partners analysts predicted a sharp increase in electric vehicle sales in Russia. They assumed that demand would grow on average 38% annually and in 2033 it would reach 340 thousand cars sold per year.