Batteries are dead: sales of electric vehicles in Russia have fallen by a third
Electric cars in Russia have not yet become really popular, despite the benefits. In Europe, they changed their minds about banning gasoline and diesel engines. German automakers are suffering huge losses due to the transition to electric vehicles, and in the United States they are returning powerful V8 engines under the hoods. Izvestia investigated why the rapid transition to "green" electric transport failed.
Hybrid version
According to the results of 2025, a third fewer electric vehicles were sold in Russia than in 2024, 12.5 thousand units, according to the analytical agency Autostat. Their share decreased from 1.1% to 0.9%. Against this background, hybrid sales showed an increase of 9.5%, sales reached 44.8 thousand rubles, and the share increased from 2.6% to 3.4%. The internal combustion engine (ICE) still plays an important role in the Russian automotive market. Electric cars, despite the benefits for their customers and the availability of subsidies for the purchase of domestic models, still remain a niche product. Nevertheless, several manufacturers have started producing clean electric cars in Russia.
In terms of the growth rate and scale of the electric vehicle industry, Russia lags behind advanced countries, according to a report by the Center for Strategic Research (CSR). The reasons for this include high self-sufficiency in fuel resources and relatively low prices for them, the high cost of electric vehicles in Russia and a narrow model range compared to cars with internal combustion engines, and an undeveloped charging infrastructure.
At the beginning of 2025, about 7 thousand charging stations for electric vehicles were operating in Russia, of which 2.7 thousand were fast. According to the CSR, in 2022-2024, the planned pace of commissioning of charging stations was completed by only 40%.
Nevertheless, several manufacturers have launched the production of "clean" electric cars in Russia. The main support measure is a special investment contract (SPIC), which gives companies a certain set of benefits and preferences. Those, in turn, are required to achieve the required level of localization.
Evolute models are assembled in the Lipetsk region, Avtotor produces models under its own brands Amberauto and Eonyx, Moskvich makes an electric version of its crossover with the 3e index, and AvtoVAZ makes Lada e-Largus. According to the results of 2025, Evolute and Amberauto significantly increased sales, taking the second and third places in the list of the most popular electric vehicles, however, in terms of the number of cars sold, they were significantly inferior to the Chinese Zeekr, which is supplied to Russia unofficially. So, Evolute sold 1,801 electric cars, and the only A5 sedan in the Amberauto lineup sold 1,126 units. In addition, 880 Moskvich 3e were sold, and Lada e-Largus is produced in small quantities only on order.
In parallel, Moskvich has started production of Russian Atom electric vehicles, sales of which are expected to begin in the spring. However, experts are skeptical about its market prospects. The high demand for hybrids is forcing Russian car companies to reconsider their plans. Last year, electric car manufacturer Evolve added the i-Space hybrid model to its lineup, and this year it launched production in the Lipetsk region of its upgraded version with welding and painting. Voyah hybrids have been included in the special investment contract — cars of this brand are also produced in the Lipetsk region. Moreover, the Voyah Passion hybrid sedan replaced the affordable Evolute i-Pro electric sedan. Evolute does not abandon electric vehicles — it plans to assemble two new models with welding and painting.
Have you changed your mind about banning
In Europe, for 11 months, the share of NEV (New Energy Vehicles, "New energy vehicles") in total sales, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association ACEA, exceeded 60 percent. The share of cars with internal combustion engines is decreasing. However, "clean" electric vehicles occupy less than 17% of the market. For comparison, hybrid cars, that is, those using an internal combustion engine with an electric "accessory", account for 34.6% of sales. Rechargeable hybrids, capable of traveling a certain distance on electric power, occupy only 9.3% of the market.
The European Commission has already changed its mind about introducing an actual ban on cars with internal combustion engines. Recall that a law was passed in the summer, according to which all new passenger cars sold in the European Union from 2035 must have zero CO2 emissions. In the new draft law, the requirements are relaxed, and the timing of the complete abandonment of the internal combustion engine is not specified. Additional emissions are planned to be reduced through the use of biofuels and "green" steel, which produces minimal CO2 emissions.
Earlier, the European Parliament relaxed restrictions on CO2 emissions for automakers and postponed fines for exceeding them. Due to the threat of multibillion-dollar fines, "traditional" car companies were forced to form alliances and buy quotas from electric vehicle manufacturers. For example, Tesla has teamed up with Stellantis, Toyota and Ford. Mercedes — c Volvo, Polestar and Smart.
Turned out to be more expensive
It turned out that the transition to environmentally friendly transport will take longer than expected. Sales growth slowed after the abolition of state subsidies, Bloomberg analysts say.
The German authorities have already announced the return of subsidies for the purchase of electric cars from the beginning of 2026 — 3 billion euros will be allocated for this. The funds are designed for the period up to 2029 and are intended for families with medium and low incomes. Without subsidies, an electric car turns out to be significantly more expensive than a similar car with an internal combustion engine. According to Bloomberg, the average price of a commuter train is 30% higher in Europe and 27% higher in the United States.
In addition, electricity turned out to be more expensive than gasoline in Germany. According to German green electricity supplier Lichtblick, electric vehicle drivers pay an average of 10.45 euros per 100 km run at conventional public charging stations, and 12.06 euros at fast charging stations. Whereas 6 liters of gasoline will cost about 10 euros.
He'll hit the wall.
The head of Mercedes and ACEA, Ola Kallenius, warned the EU authorities that if the environmental policy is not reviewed, the European car industry will "hit the wall at full speed." German automakers have already reported billions in losses. For the first time in its history, Volkswagen has closed a factory in Germany — the famous "Glass Manufactory".
European automakers rightly fear that banning cars with internal combustion engines while they are still popular will lead to loss of profits and jobs.
Volkswagen plant in Dresden
Electric vehicles contain much fewer parts than cars with internal combustion engines, which makes them cheaper to assemble, Bloomberg writes. Therefore, electric car manufacturing plants require much fewer people than traditional car companies.
European car companies are reducing investments in electric vehicles and switching to hybrids. For example, BMW and VW plan to retrofit their electric trains with power reserve boosters based on internal combustion engines.
The most turbulent segment
In 2025, electric vehicles were the most turbulent segment in the U.S. market, according to Reuters. The reason was that President Donald Trump abolished a significant tax break for buyers of "green" vehicles and advocated for easing regulations on fuel economy and emissions. This has affected consumer demand and forced automakers to reconsider plans to produce electric vehicles.
The desire of Americans to purchase an electric car before it becomes more expensive led to an increase in sales in the third quarter — the share of electric cars in total sales reached 10.5%. However, in the fourth quarter, sales fell by 46% compared to the third, and the share decreased to 5.8%. Cox Automotive analysts expect the share of electric vehicles in the U.S. market to approach 8% next year.
The "Soap bubble"
According to Iseecars, by the end of last year, American car dealers had significant stocks of unsold electric vehicles and hybrids released back in 2024. These include the Genesis GV60, GMC Hummer EV, electric Dodge Charger and hybrid Hornet.
The management of the Dodge brand urgently returns multi-liter V8 Hemi engines to Charger oil cars and Ram pickups.
"I'm not against electric cars. I am against imposing on consumers what is not conditioned by their needs. This industry works exclusively on emotions and passions. Without emotions and passions driven by customers, this whole industry is a soap bubble," Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said in an interview with The Drive.
Exceptional China
China is the only market where "clean" electric vehicles are successful: 7.88 million were sold last year, which is 24.4% more than in 2024. Rechargeable hybrids sold 3.4 million units, and "electric vehicles with an increased power reserve" (EREV) — 1.17 million units.
Nevertheless, Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the Chinese Passenger Car Association (CPCA), acknowledged a slowdown in NEV sales growth by the end of the year. This is due to the end of the tax relief for the purchase of your cars and the revision of subsidies from some regions.
In addition, the Chinese leadership excluded electric vehicles from the list of strategic industries in its five-year development plan for 2026-2030. This was a reaction to excess production capacity in the segment, protracted price wars and excessive competition.
Chinese automakers have not yet abandoned the production of internal combustion engines, among which there are not only 4-cylinder units, but also V6 and V8.
How electric cars are losing value
According to the Berylls consulting company, in Europe, an electric car loses more than 50% of its initial cost after three years of operation and 60 thousand kilometers of mileage. A study by Cox Automotive shows that electric vehicles are depreciating faster than cars with internal combustion engines. On average, they lose 38-42% in price after three years, while cars with internal combustion engines lose 35-40%. According to Iseecars, Tesla is the leader in value loss in the secondary market.
In the Russian market, according to the National Agency for Industrial Information (NAPI), provided to Izvestia, the budget electric crossover Evolute i-Joy loses 30.6% of its original price in three years, while the gasoline Haval Jolion loses a little less — 26.5%. The Avatr 11 premium electric car is getting cheaper by 28.44%, and the VX gasoline crossover is getting cheaper by 32.58%.
A strategic mistake
The decision to abandon the production of models with internal combustion engines by 2035 was a strategic mistake of the European automotive industry, experts say.
— This was largely facilitated by the United States, where engines lagged significantly behind European technologies. The "dieselgate" scandal was initiated by the investigation of the American Environmental Protection Agency. This eventually led to the de facto destruction of diesel engine development in the EU," said Anton Shaparin, Vice President of the National Automobile Union (NAS).
The American car industry did not follow either the Chinese or the European path, choosing the golden mean, says Igor Morzharetto, partner at Autostat. In the lines of automakers from the USA there are models with internal combustion engines, and their hybrid versions, and purely electric.
— Electric vehicles were in demand in the EU while electricity prices were low, due in part to Russian energy resources. At the same time, since the production of the vast majority of components for electric cars is concentrated in China, European automakers are forced to purchase components and assemblies from China when creating their electric models. In particular, because of this, "electric trains" from the EU cannot compete in price with Chinese ones. Europe's abandonment of Russian gas and the explosions on the Nord Streams led to a significant increase in electricity prices — electric cars ceased to be a more profitable purchase in the eyes of consumers, Igor Morzharetto told Izvestia.
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