Putin Demands Urgent Acceleration of Russia’s Self-Driving Car Development

Russia's leader issues a stark directive: the autonomous vehicle race can't wait.

The Push for Domestic Tech Sovereignty

Vladimir Putin's call isn't just about convenience—it's a strategic pivot. He's framing self-driving technology as a critical national priority, a sector where Russia must carve out its own lane, independent of Western silicon and software. The message cuts through bureaucratic inertia: develop fast or get left behind.

Beyond the Steering Wheel

This urgency bypasses mere automotive innovation. It's a play for control over the underlying data pipelines, mapping ecosystems, and AI decision-making frameworks. Whoever masters the code behind the wheel stands to influence future urban infrastructure, logistics, and even defense applications. It's a high-stakes tech gambit wrapped in a transportation policy.

The Global Race Heats Up

Putin's move signals Russia's intent to be a player, not a spectator, in the defining tech shift of the decade. While Silicon Valley and Beijing sprint ahead, the Kremlin is betting it can leverage its scientific base to close the gap. The subtext? Technological dependency is the new geopolitical vulnerability.

A cynical observer might note that state-mandated tech sprints have a mixed track record—often producing impressive prototypes that struggle to find commercial traction or compete on a global cost basis. But when the directive comes from the top, the funding tends to follow, regardless of the ROI spreadsheets.

Russia must move from trials to rollout of autonomous solutions, says Putin

The Russian Federation should rapidly transition from testing autonomous systems to their large-scale introduction, its president insisted.

Speaking at a meeting devoted to their development, Vladimir Putin stated:

“I WOULD like to draw the attention of participants and all the colleagues in the government: there is a need to move quicker from experiments to mass use of autonomous solutions.”

The Russian head of state added that the executive power in both Moscow and the Russian regions should not only control but lead efforts in this direction.

Putin admitted that, despite taking some important steps, his country is still far behind other nations who “have reached full sovereignty” in this sphere and are already producing all the components needed for autonomous equipment.

“For example, robotic taxis are engaged and carry passengers in certain cities of the world, not as part of individual experiments but in mass numbers,” he remarked.

Nevertheless, the Russian leader acknowledged he was impressed by some of the prototypes demonstrated before the discussion.

Putin was acquainted with a whole range of products and a wide variety of implementations – from agriculture and construction to security.

“It should be said it is impressive! The boldness and variety of designers’ proposals, and how technologies created by them dramatically change life around us, forming the real economy of autonomous systems,” Putin commented, adding that the accelerated development of this industry is on the agenda.

Moscow to boost driverless truck production to thousands of units by 2030

Russian companies are gradually increasing the number of autonomous vehicles built domestically. 95 self-driving trucks have been manufactured to date, TASS informed in a separate report.

They are currently engaged in commercial transportation on the Central Ring Road in and around Moscow and the M-11 Neva highway, which links the capital with Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg.

The current plan is to grow the fleet to 920 units by the end of 2028, according to materials distributed at the exhibition, which took place on the sidelines of the meeting presided by Putin.

The goal set in the presentation is to bump production from a few hundred driverless trucks in 2026 – 2027 to thousands of units by 2030.

Putin is convinced Russia will be able to find its place in the global market for such systems, once it scales up exports, which will help it to create a strong and cost-efficient industry. He elaborated:

“It is very large, this international market. We are awaited there, I assure you. I simply know that. All our friends, our partners told us that.”

“Customs and other procedures should be made as comfortable as possible for national companies, so that they can withstand tough competition with foreign manufacturers,” he stressed.

As for Russia itself, the president expects self-driving solutions to substitute low-skilled labor and increase productivity and quality of life, fostering an economy with higher wages.

Putin has repeatedly urged Russian officials to focus efforts on facilitating the development of advanced technologies in their country.

In December, he praised the potential benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) while warning of the perils as well, commenting that not using AI “would mean losing everything we care about,” but warned that “if we use it thoughtlessly, it will also end up in the loss of everything we value.”

In November, the head of the Kremlin visited an exhibition showcasing Russian achievements in the AI-powered robot race, where he had a short interaction with a humanoid, designed and built by engineers at the banking giant Sber.

While his meeting with the smart machine called Green went relatively well, the premiere of Russia’s “first” AI robot, named Aidol, turned into an embarrassment for its creators when it stumbled and fell on its face at an event in Moscow a few days earlier.

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