Kazakhstan introduces new rules for electric vehicles

The Committee for Construction, Housing and Communal Services under the Ministry of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan has approved new mandatory standards for electric vehicles. The document was published on the agency’s website.

According to the new rules, chargers for electric vehicles should be a compulsory part of communal infrastructure in every settlement in Kazakhstan.

Authorities suggest placing these chargers at gas stations, technical service stations, parking lots, near roadside facilities and in residential, public, business and industrial areas.

In addition, at least 5% of any parking lot should be reserved for electric vehicles and equipped with a charger. These parking space should be located in one area and marked with a visible sign on the ground or wall.

All such parking lots must be equipped with automatic fire extinguishers while charging devices should meet the IP54 protection standard, have a safety shutdown system and come only from authorized producers.

In indoor parking spaces, the rules require construction and managing companies to place charging equipment near the outside walls or on the top floor at a multi-level parking lot.

«In closed parking lots, areas for electric vehicles equipped with chargers should be located no lower than the first underground or basement floor and must be used only for charging vehicles with batteries that do not emit hazardous substances in a volume capable of causing a blast,» the document says.

These rules are related to closed parking lots located in buildings with fire protection for first and second grades.

The government also recommends that owners of gas stations use fast and super-fast charging stations for electric vehicles. At the same time, at least one charging place must be accessible to drivers with disabilities.

As of December 1, 2023, there were 7,600 electric cars in Kazakhstan, according to the Bureau of National Statistics. For comparison, in December 2022, there were only 570 such vehicles in the country.

The vast majority of electric vehicles are registered in Almaty (4,300), followed by Astana (945) and the Almaty region (354). The lowest number of electric cars is in the Abay region (14).