Russian Finance for Electric and Conventional Cars Under Review by Industry and Trade Ministry
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is weighing a shift of funds from the 2023 preferential car loan program. Specifically, plans are being considered to reallocate money set aside for electric vehicle incentives toward cars with internal combustion engines. This potential adjustment was disclosed by Denis Manturov, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and head of the ministry, who emphasized that the discussion centers on how best to use the existing budget to support the automotive market.
The ministry is expected to make a formal announcement about this money transfer initiative at the start of April, outlining the scope, triggers, and any transitional arrangements that would accompany such a change.
*This material was prepared by an author who has the status of a foreign agent in the Russian Federation.
It is important to note that the budget previously allocated for demand-side support in 2023 totaled 5 billion rubles, and that allocation has since expired. Within that sum, 1.5 billion rubles were earmarked as a reserved portion to back loans for electric vehicles, effectively locking a portion of the funds toward clean-energy car financing. The current discussions are exploring whether any reallocation could preserve or modify these parameters while aligning with broader fiscal constraints.
Earlier reports indicated the ministry’s openness to additional funding for the program if the overall budget permits. The idea is to maintain the program’s core features, while potentially adjusting the discount levels to fit the available resources and market conditions.
In July of the previous year, the government resumed preferential car loans and leasing programs with a total budget of 20.7 billion rubles, signaling a renewed push to support vehicle purchases across the market. The decision to restart these measures reflected ongoing policy goals to sustain domestic demand and stimulate auto-related manufacturing within the country.
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Source: TAS