Academeg on the future of the Russian automotive industry: "There is no such a number and diversity of developments anywhere else"

Russian automotive blogger Konstantin Zarutsky, known by his nickname Academeg, told the Innovators channel in an interview whether electric cars have a future and what is the main brake on the development of the automotive industry.

Russia has accumulated a huge untapped potential for automotive development. "Russians don't build roads, they build cars to drive on what they have. There is no such quantity and variety of off-road development in America or Europe," Zarutsky said.

However, according to the blogger, now these opportunities are not being realized, most Russian manufacturers are operating "by feel". It is generally accepted that Russians are ready to buy a car in the economy segment, up to a million rubles. Design doesn't really matter to people - the main thing is that the car should be compact, comfortable, economical and not subject to luxury tax.

This approach has disadvantages, it slows down the development of the car industry and negatively affects the prospects of new brands, the expert reckons.

Moreover, he noted that foreign importers also have a poor understanding of consumers, so they make "strange moves" in the Russian market: "Some cars are brought here, some are not. Some models here are in demand of grey imports".

According to Zarutskiy, it is necessary to know the target audience and conduct a systematic work to study the interests of consumers to improve the overall situation.

In addition, the blogger also drew attention to the modest success of electric cars in Russia - in the next 10-15 years the internal combustion engine (ICE) will retain its position in the country, he is sure.

"The electric car didn't come by itself and didn't conquer anyone, it was helped. And we have transport tax cancelled only in Moscow and a few regions, the infrastructure is lame. The government is not doing enough to meet environmental standards and promote electric cars," the automobile blogger is sure.

The Innovators team on its channel talks about technology in business and business based on technology. The authors analyze startups together with their founders, cover important events and tell interesting news from the IT world.

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Author: Maria Buzanakova