‘Trend for electric cars changes constantly’: Zeekr outstrips Tesla, and Moskvitch — Evolute
How the balance of power in the Russian electric car market has changed
The Russian electric car market continues to grow, but so far mainly due to new Chinese brands. Among Russian assembly cars, the Moskvitch increased its sales, which is now competing with Evolute electric car. Lada e-Largus promises to enter the market by the end of 2024, and Atom — in 2025. By 2030, every tenth car produced in Russia is to be electric. Which brands have replaced the once popular Tesla and Nissan Leaf, how ready Tatarstan's infrastructure for a massive invasion of electric vehicles is and what Tatarstan residents are choosing more often today — in the review of Realnoe Vremya analytical.
Zeekr, Evolute and Chinese Volkswagen: what are Russians buying in 2024?
The sales of electric vehicles in Russia increased almost 2.4 times compared to the first half of last year in the first half of 2024 — from 4.5 thousand to 10.6 thousand electric cars. At the same time, in June, the growth was minimal — by 1.7% to 1,078 units, Alexander Klimnov, an expert at Autostat Info, told Realnoe Vremya.
The Zeekr (4,510 cars) remains the best-selling electric car, the Evolute (800) is the second, and Volkswagen (790) is the third, but the sales of the last two are declining. But the sales of Moskvitch increased 5.4 times. Tesla also continues to lose its market share in Russia.
Top 5 electric car brands for the first half of 2024
Electric car brand | Number of cars, pcs | Dynamics | |
1 | Zeekr | 4510 | 15.7-fold increase |
2 | Evolute | 800 | -7.8% |
3 | Volkswagen | 790 | -14.3% |
4 | Moskvitch | 712 | 5.4-fold increase |
5 | Tesla | 502 | -21.3% |
Autostat Info's data
The top 5 most popular models on Russian electric car market — Zeekr 001, Zeekr X and Zeekr 009.
Top 5 electric car models in the first half of 2024
Electric car model | Number of cars, pcs | Dynamics | |
1 | Zeekr 001 | 2867 | Almost 10-fold increase |
2 | Zeekr X | 993 | no model in the first half of 2023 |
3 | Moskvitch 3e | 712 | 5.4-fold increase |
4 | Zeekr 009 | 457 | - |
5 | FAW Bestune Nat | 449 | - |
Autostat Info's data
Towards the end of the year, domestic manufacturers such as Lada e-Largus will have to say their say. “And even more so, they will have to develop in 2025," the expert believes.
By 2030, every tenth Russian car is to be electric
According to Businessstat estimates, the sales of electric vehicles in Russia increased almost 49 times in 2019-2023. However, the sanctions caused the withdrawal of major foreign players from the Russian market — Volkswagen AG, VAG, General Motors, Stellantis, Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz. At the same time, these brands continued to be imported into the country as part of parallel imports. The range of electric cars has been expanded by Chinese manufacturers offering products in different price segments, and Russian companies that have started mass assembly of electric cars in the country.
According to the Concept of production and development of electric transport in Russia, 17,500 electric vehicles are planned to be produced by the end of 2024. By 2025, about 44,000 electric passenger cars will be assembled in the country. By 2030, every tenth car produced in Russia will be electric.
Until recently, the segment of Russian passenger electric vehicles was dominated by licensed copies of Chinese brands such as Moskvitch 3e and Evolute. At the beginning of 2024, domestically assembled cars entered the top five, but they are still inferior to Chinese brands in terms of sales. The release of new brands should change the situation. So far, three of them are known: Atom from Kama JSC, Amberauto of the Kaliningrad automobile assembly company Avtotor, and Lada e-Largus of AvtoVAZ.
Avito Auto: sales of electric cars in Tatarstan increased by more than 2 times
Compared to the second quarter of 2023, the sales in the electric car segment increased by 109.8%. In the second quarter, the growth was 8.2%. The average price of an electric car with mileage was 4.5 million rubles, Avito Auto said in a statement.
The Chinese Zeekr has become the leader in sales among brands in the republic. It accounted for 41.28% of all sales. Tesla took second place with a share of 13.37%. The third line is occupied by Nissan with a share of 8.14%. This is followed by Volkswagen (6.98%) and BYD (5.23%).
Among the models, the Chinese 5-door Zeekr 001 sports electric car became the leader. Its share in sales amounted to 19.77%. The second is the Zeekr X urban SUV with a share of 11.63%. The third place was taken by Nissan Leaf with a share of 7.56%. This model is the most budget-friendly in the top 5 and the only one worth up to a million rubles. Its average price is 949 thousand rubles. The fourth place went to the Tesla Model 3 (6.4%), and the fifth — Zeekr 007 (4.65%), Avito Auto experts told Realnoe Vremya.
An electric car is no longer a curiosity, but a means of transportation
“The electric car market is definitely growing, both in the whole country and in our region. Historically, the infrastructure of charging stations has been well developed in Tatarstan, support measures are being introduced for owners of electric vehicles — the abolition of transport tax, free travel on toll roads, free municipal parking. People who looked warily at the owners of electric cars communicate with each other and understand that owning an electric car is profitable and not as scary as it seemed," says Marat Zamalutdinov, a representative of Avtokitai company. “An electric car is no longer a curiosity that causes surprise and attracts attention, as it used to be.
At the same time, the fashion for electric car models is constantly changing: “If earlier Volkswagen, Tesla, Zeekr were bought more often, now Lixiang, Voyah and other novelties of the Chinese automotive industry are in greater demand," Zamalutdinov notes.
In Tatarstan, according to his estimates, the infrastructure of charging stations is well developed, and the situation is much better than in most regions of Russia: “You can move around the republic without any problems and not be afraid that you will be left with an empty battery.”
“One of the things that can and should be changed in the republic is the installation of individual charging stations in private parking spaces. Often, customers are ready to buy a car, but after checking things out with the management company or homeowners' association, they meet resistance from residents, chairmen, and managers of a management company. Often, they simply do not want to delve into it and refuse to install stations," says Marat Zamalutdinov. “There is an official path, but it is thorny and difficult. It is necessary to collect signatures of all residents, request additional power from the grid company. Not everyone is ready to mess with this. It is necessary to make changes to the housing code that would simplify this procedure.
Electric vehicles of the Evolute, Voyah and Ora brands are presented at TTS today, the company's press service commented to Realnoe Vremya. Moskvitch and Chery also have electric-powered cars — these are Moskvitch 3e, Chery Tiggo 7 pro and Tiggo 8 pro.
“In the first half of 2024, our customers most often chose the electric vehicles Evolve i-Space, Voyah Free, Evolve i-JET and Evolve i-PRO. Moreover, the Evolute dealership opened only in March of this year," the TTS press service noted.
The growth in the sales of electric cars through the TTS network has increased several times compared to last year. First of all, because there are more offers: new interesting models have appeared on the market. Zeekr and Lixiang are popular among electric cars with mileage, as well as electric cars from European manufacturers.
According to Businessstat forecasts, the sales growth of electric vehicles in Russia will continue in the coming years, but it will be restrained by the high price of new electric cars compared to used and cars with internal combustion engines.