8 reasons not to buy an electric car in Russia. Firstly, there is a problem with the repair

Electric cars are fast and modern cars, but they are not without their drawbacks.

In addition, many disadvantages are typical for all electric cars, so they are forgotten when it comes to buying a car.

In addition, it is worth considering that in Russia there are reasons not to buy cars, and many of them are quite serious.

1. Not enough charges

The reality is that having an electric car is only beneficial if you have a private home or parking lot. Then you are guaranteed to have your own charger, although not the smallest, but ready to use at any time. Of course, it is easier to install a charger in a private house, but this can also be done when parking, and in some of them they are provided initially.

But if you live in an apartment, using an electric car can be a challenge. Firstly, there are few chargers, and in any city. Moscow has the most of them, but given its size there are not many of them.

The second problem is that find a suitable charger that can serve as a basis. The problems can be very different: there is no required connector, it is difficult/impossible to get into, some may not work, and at the entrance to the charging station it turns out that it is either occupied by another electric vehicle, or a regular car parked next to it because there were no other places.

At the end of June 2024, 7,410 charges were read in Russia. Of these, 64.5% are slow, and only 34.5% are fast. For comparison, there are 23-24 thousand gas stations in Russia. When comparing their numbers, it is worth remembering that one gas station can serve more cars and do it faster.

2. Long charging time

Automakers have not yet managed to make the charging speed of an electric vehicle comparable to refueling a conventional car. Of course, there is an attempt, and some companies promise charging from 10 to 80% in 10 minutes. But this is only possible if very fast charging is used, which you will not find on the street.

Another problem is that Constant use of fast charging is bad for the battery. This is why manufacturers often indicate charging times not from 0% to 100%, but from 10% to 80%, because by working in this regard, the battery will remain in normal condition. In addition, the car charges more slowly for the last 10-20% to save the battery.

With such charging, any electric vehicle can be charged very quickly. But it’s a question of price

Slow charging at 2.3 kW from a 220-volt outlet will charge a Tesla Model 3 from 20 to 80% in almost 22 hours. A faster charger of 7.4 kW will handle this in 7 hours. Usually, with such power, people connect the charger to their home if they are not satisfied with the speed from the outlet.

As you can see, the problem with charging is still relevant, despite all the efforts of manufacturers. And you can be sure that the situation has not changed much in recent years.

3. You’ll have to figure out the chargers.

Such a Tesla home charger will cost about 200 thousand rubles in Russia.

This is what any electric car owner expects. The fact is that there are several different standards on the market, which sometimes differ depending on the region for which the machine is intended.

In addition, you will need to select, buy and install a charging station at home, if possible. By the way, it is not cheap, around 100 thousand rubles.

There are also likely consequences of purchasing some adapters or additional wires, as well as finding stations compatible with your chargers.

It is much easier to insert the gun into the tank and add fuel.

4. Limited range

Electric cars can rarely achieve the values ​​​​claimed by the manufacturers. This is due to the fact that they are tested according to the WLTP standard. Simply put, in ideal conditions. Moreover, according to WLTP, the indoor temperature (power reserve on the stand, not outside) should be 23 ℃.

But in reality, all drivers drive differently, so The 500 km s declared by the manufacturer may be halved.. The battery is consumed much faster at sub-zero temperatures, during sudden acceleration and at high speed.

Therefore, if you dare to drive an electric car on the highway, you will have to drive slowly in the right lane so that charging costs occur as slowly as possible.

With regular cars everything is much simpler. Their range may also depend on driving style and weather, but the difference will not be that big.

5. Software problems

This problem is especially relevant in Russia. The popularity of electric vehicles in Russia is sold unofficially, which raises important nuances.

For example, popular in Russia Zeekr costs an average of 100 thousand rubles to Russifyand this without soldering the SIM card (yes, this is also practiced). And there is also a “master account”, which is also not easy to get if you didn’t get it from.

But at least Zeekr is getting updates. Volkswagen ID.3/4/6 such privileges in Russia are practically empty. There are craftsmen who update firmware for 150 thousand rublesand this is if there is still a person. To Russify the machine, it is necessary to change the blocks, but the procedure itself is not necessary, because there is an English language, unlike Zeekr.

Electric cars are very software dependent, so it is necessary to keep the software up to date.

To do this, Tesla can be updated without problems in Russia and has a Russian language.

6. Lack of service

Another problem arising from the fact that in Russia there are no official dealers of popular electrical equipment.

There is also an interesting point here. The fact is that electric cars have to go to service centers much less frequently than conventional cars. Their engine and battery do not require regular maintenance, and due to recuperation, the brake pads and discs wear out a little slower.

But there is always a risk of unscheduled repairs, which may not necessarily occur on the car. And this is where the problems begin. The fight parts claim on their own, but in reality this is a small problem, for many it is not a problem at all.

It is much more difficult to find a service or a master who understands what he is doing. Of course, in the case of suspensions and brakes there will be no special problems, because their design is not very different from the design of conventional cars. But if you need to do something more serious, then not every master can and will undertake to do it.

7. No tuning

For some, this is not a minus at all, but electric cars are not designed for tuning, in general.

You won’t be able to flash the car, increase power by replacing parts or adding additional options that weren’t there in the first place.

In this regard, electric cars are not suitable for those who are used to improving something in their cars. I repeat, this is not a minus for everyone, but for some it is important.

8. Liquidity

Another potential problem that may arise after purchasing an electric vehicle. It will be harder to sell than a regular car.

This is primarily due to the fact that most people are not ready to buy electric cars. In Russia, people will give priority to gasoline and diesel cars for a very long time. Because of this, the sale will last longer.

The most important thing is that the higher the mileage, the longer the car is sold, because an unprepared person is afraid to buy an electric car with a high mileage, not knowing what lies ahead. A knowledgeable person will most likely prefer a discount on the purchase.

At high mileage, you can repair or replace the battery, and in Russia this procedure can be balanced.

Brief summary

All of the above disadvantages are largely due to the lack of employees and official dealers, which leads to a decrease in the popularity of electric vehicles in Russia.

If at least one of these factors is eliminated, buying an electric car will not be such a problem as it is now.

Moreover, despite all their disadvantages, these are very interesting cars that have many advantages.