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The Russians are keen to make the most of the increase in preference for electric vehicle and private car maker Zetta is learnt to be designing an EV of its own which would hit production lines later this year.
A Reuters report quoted Russia's Industry and Trade minister - Denis Manturov - as confirming that Zetta is indeed looking at launching its EV in the market here. This could well be the first such project of note as there is no local player that has managed to find any kind of success with EVs in the country yet, despite the likes of China and the US seeing a spurt in such players in their own territories.
As per the same report, referring to Autostat analytical agency, just 5,960 EVs were sold in Russia in all of last year. Of these, 687 were new EVs.
The penetration of EVs here may be insignificant currently, especially if compared to what's happening elsewhere, Russia is in the know of the potential benefits of battery-powered options and Zetta may be looking at having the early advantage.
A startup based in Tolyatti, Zetta is learnt to be developing an EV for city commutes as well as a battery-powered commercial vehicle. We expect that they will start (production) before the end of the year, but it depends on how the development work is completed," the minister informed in an official statement. "The project deserves attention, but given that the presented model is experimental, it needs to be completed