Belarusian Government amended comprehensive programme for electric vehicles development

The Government of Belarus amended the Council of Ministers’ Resolution No. 213 of April 9th, 2021, 2021–2025 Comprehensive Electric Transport Development Programme. This is stipulated by the Council of Ministers’ Resolution No. 166 of March 11th, 2024, which was officially published on the National Legal Internet Portal, BelTA reports.

The document notes that as of January 1st, 2024, the Production Association Belorusneft ran a network of 690 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Of these, 432 EV charging stations are located in the Minsk Region and the capital, 55 in Brest Region, 48 in Vitebsk Region, 58 in Gomel Region, 62 in Grodno Region, and 35 in Mogilev Region.

The resolution defines the procedure for setting up the production of passenger electric vehicles. The relevant chapter states: the Joint Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has achieved certain results in its research and development work in electric vehicles and their basic components design in 2017-2022. In particular, scientific and engineering competences have been built, and methods for designing power electronics for electric vehicles and their basic components have been mastered, taking into account the technological capabilities of domestic enterprises. Design documentation has also been developed using these techniques, and components of various power electronics have been manufactured and tested in bench conditions and in vehicles.

It is noted that the modern automotive industry is based on the use of appropriate platforms – a set of basic components, standard design, and technological solutions used in the design of the car, which reduces the product development cost. This approach can be used for mass production of Belarusian electric vehicles by developing a universal platform for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, the document reads.

For Belarus, it is reasonable to assess two potential areas for the development of the automotive industry: an electric car and a hybrid vehicle. The most promising of them is creating production facilities based on mass-produced passenger cars. 

The resolution defines how the activities of the comprehensive programme will be financed (within the framework of state programmes, the implementation of which is envisaged in 2021-2025).

The document comes into force after its official publication and applies to relations arising from April 15th, 2021.