From June to August, sales of new passenger electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in Russia reached 26,543 cars, double the 12,187 sold in the same period last year, Reuters reported, citing data from the analytical agency Autostat.
The surge was driven mainly by plug-in hybrids—cars that can be charged from an outlet but retain a gasoline engine—with Chinese-made models accounting for the bulk of sales, The Bell noted.
In August, the share of pure electric vehicles on the Russian market exceeded 2% for the first time, while plug-in hybrids made up 5%, according to Autostat director Sergei Tselikov. Including all other types of hybrids, such as mild hybrids, electric vehicles accounted for more than 11% of sales.
The cause was an acute gasoline shortage that emerged after strikes on major Russian oil refineries intensified from early June, forcing some to suspend operations. By late August, gasoline production in Russia had fallen to about 70% of domestic consumption levels. Drivers spent hours searching for fuel and queued at gas stations, prompting some consumers to switch to electric vehicles.
Sales could have grown even more, but manufacturers and importers did not anticipate the fuel deficit and failed to stockpile vehicles, Autostat said. In July, some models simply ran out at dealerships. In recent months, sales did not show a sharp spike precisely because the market was unprepared for the fuel crisis.
The electric car market in Russia remains small, hampered by a sparse network of charging stations, vast distances, and cold climate. Last year, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids accounted for only 4.3% of all cars sold in the country.
Meanwhile, interest in converting cars to run on natural gas as an alternative to gasoline and diesel is growing in Russia, The Moscow Times reported.