Russia’s Cabinet is drafting an $8bn federal program that aims to put together a strong basis for electric and hydrogen vehicle production by 2030, the USRBC reported, citing a yet-unnamed source at the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The projected funding is apparently falling 26% off compared to a previous draft plan discussed in June.

The funding would be used for the partial compensation of costs for charging stations, vehicle components, and fuel cell manufacturing and for supporting related R&D activities. The draft reportedly does not include demand support measures such as leasing or loan interest subsidies but notes that the Government could raise some $1.5bn for such subsidies by 2030 by increasing recycling fees on automobiles or by imposing an import duty on electric vehicles.

Electric and hydrogen vehicles comprised only 0.1% of Russia’s total automobile sales in 2020.

Some automotive industry professionals have argued that the measures included in the draft program may not be enough to help electric and hydrogen automobiles compete with gasoline vehicles and to achieve the program’s goal of producing 728,000 “green” vehicles by 2030. Some experts have called for direct subsidies or income tax deductions for customers which would effectively reduce “green” vehicles’ costs to levels that would be competitive with gasoline vehicle prices.