President: ‘The Sooner We Accomplish this, the More Competition there Will Be In the Car Market’

On October 10, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the presentation of a project to develop the electric vehicle industry and expand the service of electric vehicles.

The Development Strategy of our country in 2022-2026 defines the goals for the transition to a “green” economy, including the production of electric vehicles. At the meeting held on February 14 this year, the President gave specific instructions in this direction.

During today’s presentation, the management of the JSC “Uzavtosanoat” provided information on the agreements reached and models, the production of which is planned to be mastered. The issues of establishing the production of electric vehicles, expanding the network of charging stations, and localizing components were discussed.

“Electric vehicles are rapidly becoming part of our daily lives. Imports are growing. Why? Because there is a demand. The costs associated with the operation of such cars are less, the service is cheaper. Most importantly, our people prefer them. Therefore, we need to provide the population with affordable, low-cost, modern electric vehicles”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

Indeed, electric vehicles are 10 times cheaper to operate than conventional cars and 3 times less harmful to the environment. The popularity of such vehicles in developed countries is growing.

However, electric vehicles require a certain infrastructure. For example, there is one charging station for every 20 electric vehicles in the world. There are only 50 such stations in our country, they are located mainly in Tashkent and Samarkand. There are no service centers for electric vehicles.

“When we make decisions, it is imperative to take into account not only current year, but also future decades. Thus, we should develop this industry today, considering the environmental agenda and for the sake of future. The sooner we do it, the more competition will be on the car market”, the President has said.

It was emphasized that we should start to produce popular electric cars and set up a joint enterprise together with a foreign company, experienced in this sphere.

The President has paid a particular attention to the affordability of electric cars. It depends on the degree of component localization.

For example, 30 % of the electric car's production cost is the accumulator, and 10 % is the electric drive. During the presentation, the opportunities for the local production of such parts, using the available reserves of lithium, copper, and graphite, have been mentioned.

Currently, 20 electric buses run in Tashkent. It is expected to deliver another 200 electric buses to the capital city and 100 electric buses to Samarkand next year. The President has emphasized the need to initiate appropriate work in other cities as well.

Besides, the issue of expanding the service network for electric cars has been raised. It was tasked to install two thousand charging stations at parking lots, fuel stations, and highways within the next two years. These stations will also be subject to land tax, property tax and income tax benefits. There will be an opportunity for entrepreneur-owners of charging stations to sell electricity at free price.

The importance of training specialists for the industry was emphasized. It was suggested to organize a scientific laboratory for electric cars at Turin Polytechnic University, and to upgrade professional skills of teachers and specialists in China, Germany, the USA, South Korea, and other countries.