Let's go to the outlet: sales of electric vehicles and hybrids have increased in Russia
Against the background of difficulties with gasoline in Russia, sales of hybrid cars increased by a third. Electric cars could also show growth, but they turned out to be in short supply. Izvestia investigated whether queues could also arise at the outlets.
Have you tried out the hybrids
Last week, 1,754 cars with a hybrid power plant were registered, said Sergey Tselikov, General director of the Autostat analytical agency. Demand increased by a third compared to the previous week and is almost 50% higher than the average sales level this year — 1,173 units per week.
The most popular model was the Evolute i-Space crossover produced in Lipetsk — 337 units. The imported Geely EX5 EM-i hybrid is in second place (328 units), and the Russian-made Voyah Free crossover is in third place (301 units). Completing the top five are GAC S7 (153 units) and Exeed Exlantix ET (127 units). It is noteworthy that almost all hybrids are built according to a sequential scheme, that is, the internal combustion engine is not connected to the wheels, but only charges the battery. The exception is the serial—parallel Geely EX5 EM-I.
All of them have declared a mileage on pure electricity of over 100 km, that is, in theory, you can make short trips around the city using a gasoline engine. Almost all models support DC fast charging — it takes half an hour or even less to replenish the traction battery from 20 to 80%. At the same time, the gasoline engine provides a power reserve at the level of conventional passenger cars.
They can't keep up with the demand
Sergey Tselikov also notes an increase in demand for electric vehicles, but it turned out to be limited by the number of offers. For example, the leader of the Evolution segment, i-Joy, turned out to be in short supply among dealers, the CEO of Autostat notes. According to him, it is extremely difficult to increase sales of other models of electric vehicles. The best—selling product for this period was the new product from Yandex, Umo 5, which sold 45 units in a week.
In second place is the Qiyuan Q05 (24 pieces), the Changan model, which is supplied to our country by parallel import. In fact, Russian manufacturers of electric vehicles were not ready for the increase in demand and are experiencing a shortage of car kits. Real sales of the Atom electric car have not started. Imported electric trains from official supplies are expensive and are not subject to benefits and government support.
Due to the high demand for individual models, a small queue has formed for the supply of cars, the Evolute press service told Izvestia.
— Currently, the waiting period for the Evolve i-Space is about 7 days, and the Evolve i-Joy is several weeks. To reduce the waiting time, the production program has already been increased, which will allow us to increase the volume of supplies to the dealer network in the near future," the company said.
Sergey Tselikov also pointed out a reduction in the number of ads for the sale of used electric cars on classifieds by about 30%. All cars "at the bottom of the market" were either sold out or withdrawn from sale, he wrote.
The market for new energy vehicles was growing even before the difficulties with gasoline. Thus, according to the results of five months, 24.6 thousand new hybrids were sold on the Russian market, which is 125% more than in January – May 2025. During the same period, new electric vehicles sold 3,858 units (+12.3%), while used ones sold 6,000 (+34%).
We grew up before
Representatives of the dealer community said that they are seeing an increase in interest in electric vehicles and hybrids.
"The first signs of recovery were noticeable back in May and early June, but we saw a simultaneous increase precisely against the background of fuel problems and queues at gas stations," said Yuri Blinov, Marketing Director at Avilon AG.
According to him, it is important to separate the two processes. The first is the growth of the car market with new energy sources in 2026. At the same time, the segment of plug-in and serial hybrids is developing especially rapidly. This is an understandable compromise for the client, Yuri Blinov notes: you can drive an electric car in the city, but at the same time not depend entirely on the charging infrastructure.
The second process is related to the news background. Queues at gas stations, rising fuel prices at some gas stations and the discussion of possible disruptions have become a trigger for those who previously just looked at electric vehicles or hybrids, but postponed the decision.
— At Avilon, we see that some of the customers who initially considered a car with an internal combustion engine and were already at the stage of choosing or making a deal began to reconsider the decision in favor of an electric car or hybrid. This is not a massive one-step migration of the entire market, but it is a noticeable behavioral shift. The client began to consider not only the price of the car, but also the cost of ownership, fuel availability, operating risks and personal independence from the situation at the gas station, — said Yuri Blinov.
According to him, the most interesting models are now understandable and already recognizable. The shortage cannot be called total; for individual liquid models of electric vehicles, trim levels, colors and versions with the most attractive price, equipment and power reserve ratio, there is a limited supply.
A more understandable and universal format
Customers have begun to look more closely at cars powered by alternative energy sources, said Nikolai Ivanov, Rolf's New car sales Director. He suggested that additional interest in hybrids may be related to the situation on the fuel market. However, this is unlikely to lead to sustained long-term or explosive growth in sales of "clean" electric vehicles.
— The main demand potential is now concentrated in hybrids. For the Russian buyer, this is a more understandable and universal format: it provides adaptability and cost-effectiveness, but at the same time removes some of the issues related to charging infrastructure, power reserve and operation in the regions. According to our estimates, the share of hybrid cars may approach 10% of the market by the end of the year. At the same time, "clean" electric vehicles remain a niche segment — their share is about 1% and does not change significantly," Nikolai Ivanov told Izvestia.
According to the 2Chargers portal, there are about 10,000 electric vehicle chargers in Russia. Although charging station operators are talking about an increase in the number of sessions, this is unlikely to cause queues at the EHS, says Igor Morzharetto, partner at Autostat. According to him, most owners have their own charging stations in rural households.
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