The first serial production of electric vehicles will be launched in Russia
In 2022, the Sollers automobile company plans to launch the production of an electric Ford Transit in Russia in parallel with the main diesel platform, said “ b ” company representative.
Ford Motor unveiled the light commercial (LCV) Transit with an electric powertrain in November 2020, announcing production in 2022. In addition to the United States, production on the Turkish Ford Otosan was announced with a focus on Europe.
In Russia, Ford Motor is represented by the joint venture "Sollers Ford", it is controlled by "Sollers". Ford Transit are produced at the site in Yelabuga (Tatarstan). As part of the strategy, Ford Motor is gradually abandoning the development of platforms with an internal combustion engine, but does not plan to stop their production. Diesel engines for Transit will also be produced in the Russian Federation - for this purpose, Sollers Ford acquired a plant in Yelabuga from Ford.
According to Sollers' estimates, the share of electric vehicles in LCV sales in Russia will be about 1.5% in 2022–2023 and will grow to 4% by 2025. Dmitry Babansky from SBS Consulting calls this assessment realistic, recalling that GAZ intends to develop GAZelle e-NN (pre-production samples were released in 2020).
“We are already seeing demand for electric vehicles from a number of customers - the e-commerce segment and international companies operating in the Russian Federation that use LCVs for intracity delivery,” say Sollers. The use of an electric motor reduces operating costs, they add: “So, E-Transit is 40% more economical than Diesel Transit. This gives an actual 15–20% reduction in operating lease payments for electric vehicles compared to diesel vehicles in the case of low financing rates (3-5% in Europe). ”