Russia’s electric-car and plug-in-hybrid market is booming, partly fuelled by petrol shortages following Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.

President Vladimir Putin now wants the country to develop cutting-edge battery technologies, as state-owned Rosatom opens its second gigafactory. But Russia’s EV ambitions face an uncomfortable reality: much of its electric-car industry still depends on Chinese technology.

According to Russian automotive research agency Autostat, 11,400 fully electric cars and 58,700 plug-in hybrids were registered during the first nine months of 2026. BEV sales rose by 42%, while plug-in hybrid registrations increased 2.5-fold.

100,000 electrified vehicles

Together, they accounted for 7.3% of new car sales, rising to 10.8% in September alone. Autostat director Sergey Tselikov expects more than 100,000 electrified vehicles to be sold by year-end, roughly twice the 2025 volume.

Yet Russia’s electric boom remains modest compared with Europe. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), 1.64 million BEVs and 758,000 plug-in hybrids were registered in the EU during the first eight months of 2026, representing a combined market share of 31.7%.

The contrast is particularly striking for fully electric cars: 21.7% of EU registrations, against just 1.2% in Russia. Unlike Europe, Russia’s electrification boom is overwhelmingly driven by plug-in hybrids rather than pure EVs.

Petrol shortages boost electric driving

Ironically, Russia’s war against Ukraine is helping accelerate its domestic electrification. Repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries have disrupted fuel supplies, causing shortages, queues at filling stations and rising prices.

According to Reuters, sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids more than doubled between June and August, reaching 26,543 vehicles compared with 12,187 a year earlier.

Fuel insecurity is becoming an additional incentive for Russian motorists to consider electric driving, although affordability and limited charging infrastructure remain significant obstacles.

China, meanwhile, operates on an entirely different scale, with battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles already accounting for more than half of its automotive market.

Russian badges, Chinese technology

Chinese manufacturers have filled much of the vacuum left by Western and Japanese carmakers following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Geely, Dongfeng, Chery and GAC are important suppliers, alongside premium electrified brands such as Voyah, Li Auto and Zeekr.

Even supposedly Russian electric vehicles frequently have Chinese origins. Evolute, one of the country’s leading domestic electrified brands, assembles vehicles based on Chinese Dongfeng technology.

Its i-Space plug-in hybrid and i-Joy electric crossover illustrate Russia’s strategy of building a domestic EV industry without developing every component independently.

Chinese brands Haval, Geely and Changan have also established strong positions in the broader Russian car market, while the locally assembled Tenet models are derived from Chinese Chery vehicles.

Lada still rules, but Renault is history

Russia’s best-selling brand remains Lada, with 28,388 vehicles sold in September 2026, accounting for nearly a quarter of the market. However, its success relies overwhelmingly on conventional petrol models such as the Granta, Vesta and Niva.

Its electric ambitions remain limited to projects such as the e-Largus, an electric version of its estate and delivery van. Some vehicles have entered fleet operation, but Lada has yet to establish a significant presence in the passenger EV market.

Ironically, Lada’s manufacturer, AvtoVAZ, was once controlled by France’s Renault Group. In 2021, Russia was Renault’s second-largest market after France, with more than 482,000 vehicles sold under the group’s brands and a combined market share of 28.8%.

Renault had invested heavily in AvtoVAZ since 2008, modernizing its factories and sharing platforms and technology.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, it transferred its 67.69% stake to the Russian state and handed its Moscow factory over to the city authorities, writing down approximately €2.2 billion in Russian assets.

The former Renault factory now produces vehicles under the revived Moskvich name, including the electric Moskvich 3e, based on Chinese JAC technology.

Renault retained an option to buy back its AvtoVAZ stake within six years, but any return would be costly. In February 2025, AvtoVAZ claimed Renault would have to pay at least $1.3 billion to recover its former holding.

European electric cars have not disappeared from Russia either. Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.6 models, BMW EVs, Audi e-trons and Porsche Taycans can still reach customers through parallel imports, often via China, rather than official manufacturer channels.

Electric cars remain expensive

Affordability is another obstacle. An Evolute i-Joy has an official list price of around 3.12 million rubles (€32,700), while the i-Space plug-in hybrid starts at approximately 3.59 million rubles (€37,600).

Discounts, subsidies and financing can substantially reduce purchase prices, but these vehicles remain expensive relative to ordinary Russian earnings.

Demand is therefore concentrated among wealthier buyers, businesses and households able to charge at home. Public charging infrastructure remains unevenly distributed, particularly outside Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other major urban centers.

Russia’s vast distances and severe winters also help explain the preference for plug-in hybrids and range-extender vehicles, which can drive electrically without depending entirely on charging networks.

Rosatom opens its second battery gigafactory

Meanwhile, Moscow is attempting to reduce its dependence on imported batteries. On October 6, state-owned nuclear energy group Rosatom inaugurated a lithium-ion battery gigafactory in the Moscow region, with a planned annual production capacity of 4 GWh.

It follows the opening of a similar facility in Kaliningrad in December 2025, bringing Russia’s announced combined annual capacity to 8 GWh.

According to Rosatom, each factory could eventually produce enough battery cells for approximately 50,000 electric vehicles per year.

The Moscow facility combines electrode manufacturing, lithium-ion cell production and complete battery assembly. However, announced capacity is not necessarily equivalent to actual production volumes.

Its technological independence is also relative. Rosatom’s battery subsidiary Renera previously partnered with South Korean battery specialist Enertech International, whose expertise helped underpin the Russian battery project.

Putin looks beyond lithium

Speaking at the battery-industry meeting, Putin urged Russian researchers and manufacturers to focus on advanced energy storage technologies, including so-called post-lithium batteries.

These could include sodium-ion and other alternative chemistries intended to reduce dependence on critical or expensive raw materials.

However, not all post-lithium technologies offer higher energy density, as Putin suggested. Sodium-ion batteries, for example, generally remain less energy-dense than leading lithium-ion technologies, although they may offer advantages in cost and material availability.

Russia has yet to demonstrate a commercially established post-lithium automotive battery capable of challenging Chinese giants such as CATL and BYD.

Those companies already combine enormous manufacturing capacity with advanced research, established supply chains and years of experience producing batteries at competitive prices.