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Despite its recent economic recession, Ukraine remains one of the largest car markets in Central and Eastern Europe after Russia and Poland. In 2018, the Ukrainian market for imported motor and passenger vehicles amounted to USD 2.2 billion, which is 7.3 percent more than in 2017.
In 2018, the top three brands in Ukraine were Toyota, Renault, and Volkswagen (Table 1). At the same time, Cherry led in increasing its sales by 47 percent year-over-year, followed by Fiat (22 percent) and Nissan (18 percent).
Market Trends & Demand
Aftermarket Summary
The aftermarket in Ukraine has been actively developing, particularly in online sales. Most of the spare parts in Ukraine are imported (88 percent). In 2018, the total sales of imported spare parts reached $407.7 million l US dollars, an 18 percent increase over 2017. The top five importers were China, Germany, Russia, Belarus, and Turkey.
Most spare parts are imported by distributors and trading companies. The four top sales segments are suspension parts, oils, filters, and tires. As the number of used cars has grown in Ukraine, owners of these cars prefer to purchase low-cost products, increasing the average order size by 10-15%. Experts predict that aftermarket online sales will continue to grow in 2019, reshaping the market in the coming years.
Electric Vehicles Market
According to UkrAvtoProm , more than 4,200 electric cars were registered in Ukraine in the period of January – November 2018, almost twice as many compared to the same period in 2017 and 13 times more than in 2015. Experts list several reasons included increased oil and gas prices, the temporary abolishment of excise and value-added taxes on imported electric vehicles, and the public’s desire to become more environmentally friendly. There are 8,491 electric vehicles registered in Ukraine as of November 2018. The majority of Ukraine’s electric cars are bought used, as they are typically half the price of a new vehicle.
The top selling electric cars in Ukraine are the Nissan Leaf, followed by the BMWi3 and the Tesla Model S. Experts believe that electric vehicles are a specific niche in the car industry, and the average Ukrainian still prefers a petrol-engine car. Electric vehicles are typically bought either by businesspeople who want to stand out from the crowd or technical professionals who tend to be early adopters.
Best Prospects for U.S. Exports
best prospects