OREANDA-NEWS  Sales of new electric vehicles in Russia declined sharply in January, falling by more than one and a half times (by 51 percent) to the levels of the beginning of last year, to 768 cars. This was reported by RIA Novosti with reference to Igor Mishin, an expert at NTI Avtonet.

"The decline may be related to high prices and underdeveloped infrastructure. It is also worth remembering that the efficiency of electric vehicles decreases in winter conditions," the specialist noted. According to him, electric cars made under the Chinese Voyah brand became the most popular this month.

At the beginning of last fall, it was reported that Voyah products were banned from being exported through unofficial channels. The requirement applies to both new and used cars. At that time, they were imported to Russia both through an official importer and in transit through Kyrgyzstan.

As of July 1, one in three of the electric vehicles registered in the Russian Federation turned out to be manufactured under a Japanese brand. There were 16.9 thousand of them, Chinese — 13.8 thousand, German — 7.4 thousand. In general, sales of electric cars in Russia increased by 26 percent in 2024, to 17.8 thousand new cars, Autostat indicated.