Russian fuel crisis prompts rush for Chinese electric cars

By Ekaterina Maksimova and Gleb Stolyarov

MOSCOW, July 3 (Reuters) - A Moscow car dealership is struggling to keep up with demand for new electric vehicles from China as drivers look to sidestep a fuel crisis that has led to long queues and soaring prices across much of Russia.

Escalating Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have squeezed gasoline and diesel supplies in recent weeks, prompting restrictions in most regions. 

Retail gasoline prices in some areas have climbed to among the highest levels in Europe, according to Reuters calculations.

Russia's vast distances, harsh climate, and limited charging network have curbed the growth of its EV market. But the mounting fuel challenges are leading some motorists to make the switch.

EN Cars, which specialises in Chinese brands, is selling two to three EVs per day, compared with two to three a month just a few weeks ago, founder Yevgeniy Zabelin told Reuters on Wednesday.

"Since the fuel situation became complicated, demand has grown many times over," he said, adding that interest was rising in both budget and premium models.

Sales volumes of EVs and plug-in hybrids are growing but remain low, because manufacturers and importers were not ready for the gasoline crisis and do not have sufficient inventories, Sergei Udalov, executive director of analytical agency Autostat, told Reuters.

But he said that if the crisis persists, sales will see significant growth in the near future, and China will be the main beneficiary.

ACCELERATING SALES

In the showroom, prospective buyers inspected electric SUVs made by Chinese automaker Geely.

With fuel prices up more than 12% year-on-year between January and May, demand for EVs was already increasing.

According to Autostat, the best-selling EV and hybrid brands in Russia are those of Chinese manufacturers Geely, Dongfeng, GAC, and Chery. The top Russian-produced EV model is Evolute, which is manufactured from assembly kits supplied by Dongfeng.

About 24,600 new plug-in hybrids were sold in the first five months of the year, up 125% year-on-year, while sales of new fully electric cars rose 19% to 4,460, according to Autostat and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.    

Sales accelerated further in June as fuel shortages hit. Last week, 1,754 new plug-in hybrids were registered, up nearly a third from the previous week and nearly 50% above the average weekly pace this year, according to Autostat chief Sergei Tselikov. 

The number of charging stations in Russia increased 20% in the year to July 2026, according to digital map service 2GIS.  

Sitting in the dealership, customer Vasiliy said he was pleased he had already bought a hybrid and an EV. 

"Especially in the current situation, I haven't had any problems at all," he said with a chuckle, though he added he did not expect the general surge in interest to last.

"I live in a private house in the countryside. I have installed my own charging station and charge at home. In Moscow it is a real problem, to charge properly."

EVs and plug-in hybrids accounted for just 4.3% of Russia's total car sales last year, according to Autostat. 

Russians are also increasingly fitting their cars with special equipment to switch to more available and cheaper liquefied natural gas from gasoline and diesel.

Izvestia newspaper quoted the national gas fuel association as saying the use of such equipment had jumped by 35% since March to April last year.

(Additional reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova. Writing by Alessandra Prentice. Editing by Mark Potter)