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Russia's Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Alexander Morozov
says that he believes that a foreign OEM with manufacturing
operations in Russia is about to announce plans to produce an
electric vehicle (EV) in the country, according to an Interfax news
agency report. It appears that an OEM may be planning an
announcement ahead of the Moscow Motor Show, which takes place at
the end of the month. Speaking at the International Eurasian Forum
Morozov said, "I think that soon, next week, we, together with
major international auto manufacturers which today are legitimately
Russian because they have assets in Russia and commitments to the
Russian government for the deep localization of technology, will
announce the launch of the next electric car." He also said that
Russia's own EV, the compact Zetta, would go into production in
December. The Zetta is a quadricycle-style small urban EV with a
price tag of RUB450,000. The company plans to achieve sales of
10,000 to 15,000 cars a year.
Significance: Given the lack of government
support and infrastructure in the Russian market, it will be a bold
move by any OEM to commit to EV manufacturing in the country.
However, it is likely that the announcement will dovetail with some
kind of government commitment to support EV infrastructure growth
and customer take-up. Given Renault's links to the Russian
government through its ownership of AvtoVAZ, it would be no
surprise if Renault were the OEM in question, although Russia's
second largest-selling vehicle group, Hyundai, has an extensive set
of EV offerings too. However, given the combined EV parc in Russia
was only 3,600 units at the start of the year it will take some
time before EV's gain any kind of real traction in the market.
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