MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Genuine electric cars from China are to hit Russian roads by next summer, the head of the Russian car dealer Revolta Motors said Wednesday.
"New carmakers have emerged in China that produce their own vehicles in cooperation with foreign manufacturers, rather than build replicas and clones of European and American cars. We have short-listed two Chinese automakers and are working together with them," Revolta Motors CEO Maxim Osorin told journalists at a press conference.
Osorin said battery-powered vehicles will be available in the budget segment starting at 800,000 rubles (almost $13,000). They are powered by lithium-ion batteries that take three hours to fully charge.
There are currently only 500 electric and hybrid cars on Russian roads, including 300 vehicles that were imported in 2014.
Osorin's company is also working with Russia's telecom company Yota to create a network of charging stations across the country. In 2015, Revolta plans to install a score of charging stations in Moscow and St. Petersburg that will offer a free year of services.