First there is skepticism and criticism, then there is race for a piece of the market. Large automakers are switching to the production of all-electric cars. This has finally become clear at the current Geneva Motor Show.
The era of roaring engines is gone. Now automakers are competing to make the quietest automobile. At the Geneva Motor Show, the British all-electric Jaguar became the “Car of the Year.” In general, there is a widest choice of electric cars in history: from sports and supercars, bought in order to accelerate at traffic lights and highways, to retro style electric vehicles and two-seater Citroens, which are slow and compact. All EU car companies are switching to clean energy.
“Electrification is a key part of our strategy. We started in 2013 with our “i3” — a fully electric car. Today we are presenting plug-in hybrids with the possibility of recharging. We offer them across the entire model range,” said Peter Nota, a representative of the BMW concern, at the Geneva Motor Show.
In the next 3 years Germany will invest 60 billion euros in the development of electric cars and unmanned vehicles, so as not to lose the markets. After all, citizens of the United Europe want clean air, less noise and not to pay for gasoline. But are Belarusians ready to switch to electric cars?
Here is what the residents of Homiel said:
“We have no servicemen to repair them.”
“They are unattainable to us yet. But in general, why not. ”
“When they become cheaper, we’ll switch.”
Formally, Belarus has a draft program for the development of electric transport with various privileges described there.
“But so far only two things have been done: they canceled customs payments for the import of charging stations and canceled the toll fee, which saves people 150-200 rubles per year. But they can also cancel the customs duty on electric vehicles, which now amounts to about half the cost,” commented journalist and car enthusiast Henadz Mazheika.
According to statistics, there are only 300 electric cars in Belarus for 3 million people.
“We, the owners of electric vehicles, are not asking for money. Just give us the privileges in the form of zero duty and zero VAT,” said Tesla owner Artur Tumanau.
The authorities of Belarus, unlike the neighboring Ukraine, do not plan to introduce a zero duty on foreign electric cars. But the head of state wants the Academy of Sciences to develop the Belarusian electric car.
There are experimental models, but for now the industrial assembly of the local “Tesla” is still far away in the future. Although there are successes.
“A few dozen electric buses manufactured by Belkommunmash operate in Minsk. But, unfortunately, the main components like electric motors and supercapacitors are foreign-made, we have not yet mastered these units,” says Henadz Mazheika, a journalist and car enthusiast.
At the same time, the country’s leadership is ordering everyone to switch to electricity for environmental reasons. We must sell electricity from the Astravets NPP, since it is unlikely to be exported.
Yaraslau Stseshyk / belsat.eu
