The head of the ROAD assessed the prospects of electric vehicles in Russia

The prospects for fully electric cars in Russia are still modest, but the infrastructure for their operation in the country should be developed. This opinion was shared by Alexey Podshchekoldin, President of the Russian Automobile Dealers Association (ROAD).

"I'm sure that technology will come, and electric cars will charge in a matter of minutes, but now, to charge in 2 minutes, there is no such thing. And no one knows what to do with lithium batteries. Will we find some city, new lands, and bury them there? Therefore, complex tasks need to be solved. There are one or two factories in Russia, thank God, let them produce electric cars," Rossiyskaya Gazeta quoted Podshchekoldin as saying on May 13.

The head of the ROAD drew attention to the fact that the Evolute plant in the Lipetsk region, which began with the production of electric vehicles, realized that hybrid cars should be produced. He noted that in the United States and China, automakers have also begun to pay more attention to gasoline-electric cars. Hybrid cars, although technically more complex, have a much longer range without stopping to recharge/refuel than electric cars.

At the same time, Podshchekoldin pointed out that electric vehicles need to be developed, especially in megacities with a high concentration of transport, and appropriate infrastructure should be created, as well as a special program to support demand for electric cars in a number of regions as an experiment.

We started charging: demand for electric cars has increased in Russia

However, the segment of such vehicles is less than 1%

In the first quarter of 2026, Russian residents purchased 3,112 used electric vehicles. As noted on May 4, this figure was 23% higher than in the first quarter of last year.