Russia’s largest unofficial Tesla dealer, Tesla Club, is hoping that zero customs tariffs will help get sales off the ground, according to Reuters. In May, the Russian government reduced customs fees for electric cars to zero, in hopes to incentivize the public to hop onto the electric vehicle trend.
While there aren’t any official Tesla dealers in Russia as of yet, Tesla Club has been helping Russian citizens procure and service Teslas for the past few years.
There were only 81 Teslas sold in Russia in 2019, which pales in comparison to the 367,656 sold worldwide that same year. The Russian electric vehicle market is minuscule at best, though it’s set to grow substantially through the end of the year. The country has significantly less charging stations than the US or other European countries, which, at least in part, explains its lack of electric vehicles in the midst of a growing EV industry.
Tesla Club’s leader, Alexei Eremchuk, believes Russian Tesla sales may rise above 1,000 in 2020, and even more in years ahead. While, on average, Russian consumers pay around 7 to 8 million rubles ($95,480-$109,120 USD) for new models, the reduction in tariffs is set to combat the high asking price of the Russian Tesla market.
While the most popular electric vehicles sold in Russia were the Nissan Leaf and the Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla is not far behind, and the change in tariffs will only serve the US company’s growth in Russia in years to come.
