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- Michurin never dreamed: sales of hybrid cars in the Russian Federation have increased dramatically
Michurin never dreamed: sales of hybrid cars in the Russian Federation have increased dramatically
Despite the general decline in the new car market, sales of hybrid models in Russia increased significantly in January. At the same time, the list of models that buyers are showing increased interest in has changed significantly: hybrid cars assembled in Russia come out on top. Experts predict that the demand for them will continue to grow. The details are in the Izvestia article.
"Green" light
By the end of January, sales of plug-in hybrid cars in Russia increased by 66% compared to the same period in 2025. This was announced by Sergey Tselikov, General Director of the analytical agency Autostat. A total of 3,820 such cars were sold last month. The growth of interest occurred against the background of a general drop in sales of new cars, he stressed. The head of Autostat noted that the growth in demand for hybrids has been noted throughout the past year: in 2025, Russians purchased 44.8 thousand such cars, which is 9% higher than the result of the year before last. At the same time, the Russian car market as a whole decreased by 16% last year, he recalled.
Compared to last January, the top five most sought-after hybrid models have changed significantly. In particular, the Voyah brand became the market leader (871 cars, +90%), whose models (Free crossovers, Dream minivans and Passion sedans) are assembled at factories in the Lipetsk region. Geely is in second place with 850 cars sold. Deliveries of the EX5 EM-i model began only last fall. The former "green leader" Lixiang worsened his results (-33%) and as a result moved to the third place with 643 cars sold. It is noteworthy that at the beginning of 2024, cars of this brand were among the ten most popular, including models with internal combustion engines.
Completing the top five most in-demand "green" cars is another Russian brand Evolute (302 cars, +77%) with the only i-Space hybrid crossover at the moment (also produced near Lipetsk) and Chinese Link & Co (294 units, +950%), supplied to our country through unofficial channels.
The trend of large cities
The growing interest in hybrids in the "falling" market is not just a fashion for new technologies, but an indicator of the pragmatic calculation of consumers, says Irina Frank, CEO of Frank Auto. According to her, these models are now perceived as the golden mean.: This is electricity for the city with cheap kilometers and gasoline for the highway without dependence on charging stations. An additional growth factor was the increase in the number of such models on the market, she notes.
— Chinese brands have increased localization and established alternative supply channels. As a result, the buyer received a large selection of cars at prices that are no longer inferior to traditional odnoklassniki with internal combustion engines, and in some cases they win," Irina Frank believes.
The trend towards "greening" new cars purchased by Russians is obvious, says Ruslan Tarasov, editor-in-chief of the EV-Start electric vehicle portal. Buyers appreciated the advantages of hybrid models and became actively interested in them, he said. However, so far this trend is more typical for megacities and large urban agglomerations, the expert notes.
— Most often, the buyer of a hybrid is a person living in a country house, who, as a rule, acquires his own charging station at the same time as buying such a car. This way he gets all the advantages of hybrids to the maximum. For daily trips from home to work or on business, he uses battery power without going to the gas station at all, charging it from a personal outlet if necessary. He uses his usual fuel only for long—distance trips," Ruslan Tarasov told Izvestia.
In his opinion, the share of hybrids in the market will only grow. Moreover, gradually, buyers in the regions will increasingly show interest in such cars, the expert believes. In addition, in the future it may lead to an increase in sales of "clean" electric vehicles, he predicts.
The increased demand for hybrids is due to several factors at once, says Ilya Petrov, Director of Retail Sales at Avilon AG. Such cars are equipped with sufficiently powerful electric motors, which ensures acceleration dynamics up to 100 km/ h in the range of 4-6 seconds, comparable to the performance of expensive models with gasoline or diesel engines, he explains.
— At the same time, the presence of a gasoline engine as a generator allows you to travel long distances without being tied to a charging station. In addition, recently there has been a good balance between the cost, level of equipment and technical characteristics of such vehicles," he told Izvestia.
The growth in sales of hybrids was facilitated by the appearance on the market of new models, initially created on their own platforms, rather than built on the basis of cars with internal combustion engines, according to Igor Morzharetto, partner at Autostat.
— The previous generation of hybrids, in which an electric motor and a traction battery were added to the conventional engine, did not have a special "range". Due to the design features, it was extremely difficult to place a large battery and a powerful electric motor on them. Models created on a platform originally designed for a hybrid make it possible to solve this problem and provide an impressive range of power, often exceeding 1,000 km," he said.
Russia — go ahead!
The record sales of Voyah and Evolve prove that more and more customers have begun to prefer cars powered by new energy sources, realizing their obvious advantages, Elizaveta Khmeleva, director of public Relations for these brands, told Izvestia.
— The hybrid is perceived as a compromise between a traditional car and an electric vehicle — a kind of "soft entry" into the new technology. And a balanced pricing policy for the model range and local production in Russia help customers to get serious benefits," she said.
The growing interest in hybrids assembled in Russia is largely due to the inclusion of these cars in the list of models that are subject to a government program to support demand for domestic cars, Igor Morzharetto believes. A 35% discount (no more than 925 thousand rubles) on their purchase makes the purchase of domestic "green" cars attractive.
Irina Frank calls the significant drop in sales of Lixiang models against the background of an overall increase in sales of hybrids a marketing paradox. This brand has become a victim of its own legalization, she believes.
— When these cars were imported according to the "gray" schemes, they were much cheaper, and the buyer turned a blind eye to the nuances of the warranty. As soon as the company came officially, the cars rose in price to the premium segment, and the added value in the form of an official service, as the January statistics showed, was not as important to the audience as the overpayment of 2-3 million rubles, explained Irina Frank.
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