Ukraine may become "European China" in production of electric cars – Eurocar owner

Owner of Eurocar Ltd. Oleh Boyarin says that his company, which manufactures Skoda cars in Ukraine, is ready to produce electric vehicles if the state provides its support, which will help Ukraine to become a "European China," i.e. an external production site.

"Whom can we develop such cooperation with? With European, American brands that want to supply products onto the European market. It will require significant investment in the creation of new production capacities – existing plants will need to be rebuilt. Thus, Ukraine has an opportunity to become a kind of a 'European China' (an external production site) and gain access to the European market. But it is important to be on time, as all countries compete hard for the investor and technology," he told in an interview with the news portal Liga.net on February 26.

Read alsoUkraine manufactures 7,654 vehicles in 11 months, 67% up y-o-yIn his words, the plant is considering the production and supply of electric vehicles and their components to the European Union's markets.

"We are examining opportunities in this area," he told Liga.net, adding that it was too early to elaborate on details.

Boyarin noted that there are two main development options and several combinations.

"The first scenario is the production of electric cars and batteries as their main elements. There are practically no such enterprises in Europe," he said.

In his words, the second option is cooperation with Chinese automakers.

"The second option is to become a platform for the production of Chinese electric vehicles that will be delivered to Europe. China is now actively developing the electric vehicles sector at the state level, and in a few years, they will become global leaders in the production of electric vehicles and will launch their expansion on the European market. Ukraine could be useful to them," he added.

According to Boyarin, in order to launch large-scale supplies of new electric vehicles, proper charging infrastructure and relevant legislation are needed.

"We jointly with the Infrastructure Ministry participate in the preparation of a strategy for the development of electric transport in Ukraine. Meanwhile, we need to hammer out a specific plan for its implementation," Boyarin said.

As UNIAN reported, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan earlier stated that foreign investors were interested in the production of electric cars in Ukraine.