Sergei Tselikov, Russia’s leading auto industry expert, has owned more than 20 vehicles, including a Volvo, a Volkswagen and a Range Rover. All had gasoline engines.
But in July, as Ukrainian drone strikes against oil refineries left drivers across the country waiting for hours at gas stations, he bought a fully electric Chinese hatchback. He had to act quickly — the price of the car, made by Great Wall Motor, went up by about $2,000 within days as demand surged.
“I tried to fill up one of my cars and drove around to five nearby gas stations, but they had only diesel or lower-grade petrol,” he said, referring to the poorer-quality fuels the government has allowed to be sold to address the shortages. “I was just too lazy to stand in line.”
As Ukraine increasingly takes the war to Russia, the effects may be most visible on the roads. Since the end of June, Russia’s electric-vehicle market has more than doubled. Most of the E.V.s sold in the country are Chinese, a testament to Moscow’s economic pivot in response to Western wartime sanctions.
Russia is playing catch-up. For years, while other nations built out E.V. supply chains and charging infrastructure, Russia looked the other way. Its position as one of the world’s top oil producers used to keep gasoline cheap. Vast distances between major cities meant charging networks were economically unviable without guaranteed demand. And harsh winters required automakers to heavily adapt models to the climate.
Now, E.V.s are suddenly a more common sight on Russian roads, particularly in major cities. The number of electric vehicles, including hybrids, sold in the country went from 43,000 in the January-to-August period of 2025 to more than 83,000 over the same period this year, according to the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
By the end of September, the share of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids that can run without gas had reached 11.5 percent of the Russian car market, up from about 5 percent at the beginning of the year, according to Avtostat, an auto research agency led by Mr. Tselikov. The E.V. market share in Russia is now slightly higher than in the United States, but it is only a small fraction of the share in China, which is 45 percent.
While the E.V. surge in Russia stems from a specific factor — Ukrainian attacks — the shift there is the latest example of how war and supply shocks can quickly transform car-buying decisions.
E.V. sales have boomed in other parts of the world because of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, which has caused oil and gasoline prices to soar. Globally, E.V.s are on track to account for a record 29 percent of all new car purchases this year, according to the International Energy Agency.
E.V. sales have risen in more than 90 countries this year, including Brazil, Australia, India and South Korea. The I.E.A. said the energy crisis had “clearly reinforced the case for E.V.s.”
In Russia, the fuel shortages are unnerving many Russians who had grown accustomed to the war in Ukraine being only a distant nuisance. They threaten to become a serious political issue for the government.
On Friday, only 46 percent of gas stations across Russia were selling fuel, according to Gdebenz, a crowdsourced tool that tracks the fuel market. In Moscow, gasoline was available at 53 percent of stations, leading to some lines. In Nizhny Novgorod, a major city east of Moscow, the figure was only 27 percent.
The situation in Moscow was worse in early July and mid-August, when only a quarter of stations had fuel after strikes on refineries that supply the city.
At the time, gasoline lines clogged traffic across the capital. Drivers waited hours for gas at stations on the highways connecting Moscow with St. Petersburg, Kazan and the country’s south. President Vladimir V. Putin had opened these roads with great pride over the past decade.
To try to quell the crisis, the government permitted the sale of lower-grade gasoline and diesel. But some cars began to break down after using the lower-quality fuel.
Aleksandr, the manager of a Moscow repair shop specializing in Volvos, said that within two weeks in August, he had received 15 vehicles with clogged diesel soot filters, a problem he attributed to lower-grade fuel. He, like others interviewed for this article, asked that his last name not be used to avoid any trouble with the authorities.
As the fuel crisis has continued, E.V. dealerships have been cleared out, and online listings for used electric cars have dwindled.
At a sprawling dealership complex northwest of Moscow, a manager at Evolute, a brand of Russian-assembled electric vehicles based on Chinese designs, said there was no inventory left on the lot and no way to join a waiting list.
The complex houses more than 40 dealerships, most of which used to sell primarily brands from the West, Japan and South Korea. It now has more than 25 Chinese showrooms.
Many Russian car factories used to produce Western brands but were abandoned after the invasion of Ukraine under pressure from Western governments. Most now assemble Chinese cars.
On Moscow’s streets and in its parking lots, lines have appeared at charging stations, albeit shorter ones.
Aleksandr, 40, was charging a red Moskvich, an iconic Soviet brand revived using a rebadged Chinese design, one recent day. He said he had to drive around central Moscow to find a working charger with no line.
“Overall, the infrastructure is lacking,” Aleksandr said. The Moskvich belonged to his employer, he said, adding that he would never buy an E.V. for himself because of the expense and the lack of charging stations.
Some residents have turned to electric bikes or scooters, or tried to convert their cars to using natural gas. Others have switched to public transit, including intercity buses.
The gasoline shortage has become such a feature of daily life that even clowns at Moscow’s circus have cracked jokes about it. (“Does anyone have car keys? No? Well, of course not — there’s no gas!”)
The shift toward making Russia more E.V.-friendly began in 2022, when the government started subsidizing fast-charging stations and grid connections. In 2023, updated codes required E.V. infrastructure for new buildings. The number of public charging stations grew to more than 8,000 this year from fewer than 1,500 in 2022.
Fully electric vehicles have been exempted from the transport tax paid by owners of other vehicles in many Russian regions. In Moscow and other big cities, E.V. drivers do not have to pay parking fees, which can run as high as $9.50 an hour. Russian-made E.V.s are eligible for government subsidies and can use most toll highways free of charge nationwide.
Konstantin Alyabyev, the chief executive of Punkt E, Russia’s largest charging-station operator, said his company had recognized the potential of the country’s market early on.
“We don’t consider Russia to be some kind of cursed country,” he said. “The main blocker wasn’t any kind of natural barrier. There was the standard chicken-or-egg problem: When there were no electric vehicles, there was no infrastructure.”
In recent weeks, demand at Punkt E’s charging stations has doubled, with lines forming at some of them, Mr. Alyabyev said. But the company cannot quickly expand its network because of the time required to secure permits. Still, company officials decided to speed up the construction of 100 additional charging stations.
Mr. Tselikov, the auto expert, bought a sporty GWM Ora 03 GT. Previously, the model was known as the Ora Funky Cat. Mr. Tselikov nicknamed his own car Kotya, the Russian word for “kitty.”
He said that while the share of fully electric cars had doubled, they remained somewhat unusual in Russia, primarily because of their cost. Hybrid cars, he predicted, will continue to gain market share.
E.V.s may also face an image barrier in Russia. For some, they just are not manly enough.
Waiting in a long line for gas outside Moscow, Igor, 51, reflected that sentiment. “I would never buy an E.V.,” he said. “They’re bad for men’s health and way too expensive.”
Chico Harlan contributed reporting.
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