Moscow, capital of oil-rich Russia, targets electric car growth - official

Record ID: 1627709

  • Title: Moscow, capital of oil-rich Russia, targets electric car growth - official
  • Date: 20th July 2021
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 19, 2021) (REUTERS) TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF KREMLIN VARIOUS OF KREMLIN TRAFFIC IN STREET MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 16, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) HEAD OF MOSCOW'S DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, MAXIM LIKSUTOV, SAYING:  "I think it will take around eight years (to switch over to completely electrically powered city transport). Taken into account that we have to renew ten percent of the vehicles yearly. We have started this program two years ago, and in eight years all the Moscow transport will be electricity-powered. In today's infrastructure, we have the metro working on electricity, suburban trains are also all electrical, we have an electric network. With these in view, we have estimated that over 70 percent of the city transport is already electrically powered. This is a good result, we only have to change 30 percent. Other cities in the world have a completely different situation." MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 19, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CHARGER FOR ELECTRIC CARS IN STREET SIGN FOR ELECTRIC CAR CHARGER MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 16, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) HEAD OF MOSCOW'S DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, MAXIM LIKSUTOV, SAYING:  "There are around 2,000 (electric) cars in Moscow now and their number increases every year by about 10-15%. Charging infrastructure has to appear for it to grow more. This is the city's duty." MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 19, 2021) (REUTERS) CHARGER SIGN NEAR PARKING SIGN MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 16, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) HEAD OF MOSCOW'S DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, MAXIM LIKSUTOV, SAYING:  "Our reasoning is that without the city authorities, such things do not appear fast. So we expect private chargers to appear in the shopping malls and parking lots in particular, in the places where it would be convenient to stop and put your car on charge. If we take the city infrastructure - the cities usually invest in it, so there are no obstacles in using an electric car." TOY SHIP (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) HEAD OF MOSCOW'S DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, MAXIM LIKSUTOV, SAYING:  "There are recommendations of the international public transport union which indicate that the city should pioneer in this, invest in it and create excessive services at some point. The people should see that there are a lot of chargers and they all work, you can see them in a mobile app, you can put your car here and charge it comfortably, there will be no problems. So the city's investments are necessary, particularly at the starting point where we are now." VARIOUS OF CHARGER FOR ELECTRIC CARS IN STREET DRIVING SHOT FROM ELECTRIC SCOOTER  ELECTRIC SCOOTER, MOSCOW CITY IN BACKGROUND PARKED SCOOTERS MAN DRIVING AWAY ON ELECTRIC SCOOTER
  • Embargoed: 3rd August 2021 13:05
  • Keywords: Moscow Russia electric cars electric transport
  • Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • City: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Europe,Science
  • Reuters ID: LVA001EMNAJKD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Moscow, capital of one of the world's biggest hydrocarbon exporters, plans to boost the use of electric cars by rolling out a raft of charging infrastructure in the coming years, the city's top transport official told Reuters.
    The use of electric cars in oil and gas giant Russia lags far behind other European capitals. But Moscow plans to install 200 electric charging stations annually starting next year, said Maxim Liksutov, head of the city's transport department.
    "There are around 2,000 (electric) cars in Moscow now and their number increases every year by about 10-15%. Charging infrastructure has to appear for it to grow more," Liksutov said in an interview.
    It was natural that Moscow, a city of over 12.5 million inhabitants, would follow the global trend that has seen a boom in electric vehicle use in recent years, he added.
    Moscow has changed dramatically since Sergei Sobyanin was appointed mayor in 2010. He has pedestrianized streets, widened pavements and overhauled Soviet-era parks.
    The Russian capital will have around 600 city-owned charging stations by 2023, Liksutov said.
    It also wants to replace its public transport fleet - primarily its buses - to run off green energy within the next eight years, he said.
    Of the estimated 45 million cars in circulation in Russia, just 11,000 were electric as of the start of this year, and they were serviced by around 1,000 charging stations, according to the RusHydro power generating company.
    The European Union, by comparison, had more than 1 million electric cars by the end of 2019, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.
    The Association of European Businesses (AEB), a lobby of foreign investors in Russia, predicts at least 1,000 electric cars will be sold in the country this year with the market expected to double annually going forward.
    Liksutov said Moscow would follow international guidelines recommending cities install more charging infrastructure than is initially needed with a view to spurring future demand.
    The city will also streamline the approval process for privately installed charging stations.
    "The first steps must be taken by the city authorities," Liksutov said.
    (Production: Anton Derbenev, Gennady Novik, Lev Sergeev, Dmitry Madorsky)
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