Well, Li-Ion was mass adopted way after the fall of the USSR, so back then Ni-XX is all they had. The Ford Endura Diesel engines provided ~60 HP, but were more

Well, Li-Ion was mass adopted way after the fall of the USSR, so back then Ni-XX is all they had. The Ford Endura Diesel engines provided ~60 HP, but were more than good enough for everyday use. If they kept up with it, electric may have been quite standard by now. Of course, the US had electric cars almost a century before,which were abandoned, as well. And electric batteries are still nowhere near petrol by energy density. It seems like a good experiment for the times.