In 2025, Ukrainians purchased 83,443 thousand new passenger cars, which is 17% more than in the previous year. In particular, in December, sales increased 2.2 times to 12,724 thousand, according to AUTO-Consulting
“Thus, 2025 went down in history as the year of the Ukrainian car market’s recovery,” the group’s website states.
Toyota maintained its leadership in 2025, selling 10,700 cars (3.15% less than in 2024), although in the last months of the year it was forced to let Chinese BYD take the lead.
Experts note that BYD became the phenomenon of 2025, rising from 11th place in the ranking to second and occupying 26% of the market by the end of the year with sales of almost 10,600 cars (4.6 times more).
“We have never seen such a rapid breakthrough before. It should be added that BYD’s sales were carried out by so-called “gray” dealers, without an organized network of car dealerships, without service, without a coordinated policy. However, BYD became the second automaker to sell more than 10,000 cars in Ukraine in a year,” analysts said.
They noted that Volkswagen has been in third place in Ukraine for a year in a row, but this result was also made possible by the supply of “gray” electric cars from the Chinese market.
Renault lost two positions over the year and is now only fourth with sales of 6,330 cars (-11.4%), while Skoda, which took fifth place, is not far behind with sales of 6,180 cars (+21.2%).
According to AUTO-Consulting, BMW remains the No. 1 brand among premium cars, although in 2025 it had to actively defend this status from the Chinese as well – sales of the brand, which took sixth place in the overall ranking, fell by 21.4% to 3,800.
“Unexpectedly, Ukrainian consumers began to trust the newly created Chinese premium manufacturers and actively switch to them. That is why we already see Zeekr as number 8 on the market, although a year ago it only made it into the top 20. But Zeekr even had enough strength to overtake Audi,” the report states.
Experts also noted the successful policy of Hyundai, which increased sales by 37% to 3,640 units.
They also noted that Honda is in the top 10 for the second year in a row, which, thanks to “gray” dealers of Chinese electric cars, was able to overtake its colleagues in the Japanese auto industry – Suzuki, Mazda, and Nissan.
AUTO-Consulting emphasizes that the result of passenger car sales in December is due to the end of VAT exemptions on electric cars, whose share exceeded 50% (50.8%) for the first time last month.
“In December alone, Ukrainians purchased more than 6,500 electric cars, which is more than all car sales in the months at the beginning of 2025,” the report says.
In December, BYD took first place and sold 3,300 electric cars, compared to 192 in December 2024.
In addition, thanks to “gray” dealers, Volkswagen took second place in December (1,332 cars) and 10% of the Ukrainian market, surpassing Toyota (1,159 units). Skoda took fourth place with sales of 933 units (+56.3%), and Zeekr took fifth place (898 cars), surpassing all competitors in the premium segment.
“In fact, not all automakers were able to withstand the ‘Chinese electric invasion’ in December in the top 10. Among them were Renault, Hyundai, BMW, and Audi, although their sales were boosted by “gray” deliveries from the Chinese market,” experts noted.
The Ukravtoprom association also notes a 17% growth in the passenger car market in 2025, to 81,300 units. In particular, according to its data, 12,400 cars were sold in December, which is 2.2 times more than in December 2024 and 50% more than in November 2025. According to the association, the top three were BYD with 3,164 units, Volkswagen with 1,298 units, and Toyota with 1,117 units.
Next in the ranking are Skoda with 969 units, Zeekr with 844 units, Renault with 658 units, Honda with 441 units, Hyundai with 375 units, BMW with 324 units, and Audi with 316 units.
The bestseller of the month was the Volkswagen ID.UNYX.
As reported, according to Ukravtoprom, in 2024, initial registrations of new passenger cars in Ukraine increased by 14% compared to 2023, to 69,600 units, while according to AUTO-Consulting, sales increased by 9.8%, to 71,300 units.
As of January 1, 2026, 26 sugar factories that are members of the Ukrtsukor association processed 10.43 million tons of sugar beets and produced 1.574 million tons of sugar, the association’s press service reported on Telegram.
The industry association specified that sugar yield was 15.19% (+1.13% compared to last season) with beet sugar content of 17.63% (+0.88% compared to last year).
In January, six sugar factories will continue processing sugar beets. The sweet root processing season is expected to end by January 20, 2026, Ukrtsukor concluded.
The association reminded that sugar beet processing is also carried out by the Gorokhiv Sugar Factory, which is not a member of Ukrtsukor and does not provide the association with operational information.
As reported, 1.25 million tons of sugar were produced in Ukraine in the 2024-2025 marketing year, meaning that domestic sugar factories produced 25.9% more product this season than last year. The volume of the domestic market in Ukraine is currently estimated at 900,000 tons per year.
Gold and other precious metals rose on Monday amid events in Venezuela, which contributed to increased demand for safe-haven assets.
As reported, on January 3, US special forces conducted a special operation in Venezuela, capturing the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife. Maduro will appear before a federal court in Manhattan, New York, on Monday, ABC News reported. He is expected to face drug trafficking charges that could result in multiple life sentences. US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that his country would temporarily take control of Venezuela.
The spot price of gold rose 2.1% during trading to $4,422 per ounce. Gold for February delivery on Comex rose 2.4% to $4,433.3 per ounce.
“Events in Venezuela have spurred demand for defensive assets as investors seek to protect themselves from geopolitical risks,” said KCM Trade analyst Tim Waterer. “Gold and silver were among the main beneficiaries.”
In 2025, gold rose 64%—the most since 1979—amid geopolitical tensions, lower interest rates, and high demand from global central banks. On December 26, the price of the precious metal rose to a record $4,549.71 per ounce.
The price of silver on the spot market rose 3.8% on Monday to $75.33 per ounce. At the end of last year, silver rose 2.5 times in price, which was its best annual performance. The price of the precious metal reached a record high of $83.62 per ounce on December 29.
The spot price of platinum rose 3.7% during trading to $2,220.3 per ounce, and palladium rose 2% to $1,671.7 per ounce.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center presented an analysis of the world’s leading gold-producing countries in its video on YouTube channel — https://youtube.com/shorts/DWbzJ1e2tJc?si=BywddHO-JFWFqUFA
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Valery Vavrynyuk, first deputy head of the State Border Service of Ukraine, as acting head of the SBU.
The corresponding decree No. 10/2026 of January 4, 2026, was published on the website of the President of Ukraine.
Valery Vavrynyuk was appointed first deputy head of the State Border Guard Service on October 20, 2025, according to his biography on the State Border Guard Service website.
In 2023, he was appointed head of the Western Regional Administration, and in 2019, head of the Eastern Regional Administration of the State Border Guard Service.
Until October 2019, he was appointed to the positions of head of border detachments in the Eastern and Western Regional Administrations and to positions in the Eastern Regional Administration of the State Border Guard Service.
From December 2014 to July 2015, he was deputy head of the regional administration and head of the operational and military department of the Eastern Regional Administration of the State Border Guard Service.
From 2008 to 2014, he held management positions in border guard units in the Northern and Southern Regional Administrations of the State Border Guard Service.
Passenger traffic across the Ukrainian border during the New Year week, from December 27 to January 2, fell by approximately 28.5%, according to data from the State Border Service, which does not include information for December 30.
According to the data, the number of border crossings for departure fell to 232,000 (for comparison, data for December 30 and 23 are not included) from 278,000 a week earlier, while the drop in arrivals was even more significant – to 184,000 from 304,000.
The number of vehicles that passed through checkpoints this week also fell to 77,000 from 109,000 a week earlier, and the flow of vehicles carrying humanitarian cargo fell to 268 from 373.
At the same time, this Saturday, the number of entries increased to 50,000, and exits to 53,000, so queues returned to the border.
According to the State Border Service, as of 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, most of the cars waiting to leave Ukraine at the Krakivets checkpoint were passenger cars – 85. The queue at the Hrushev checkpoint consisted of 50 cars, at the Ustyluh checkpoint – 45, at the Uhryniv checkpoint – 30 cars, and at the Shehyni checkpoint – 20. In addition, 12 buses had accumulated at the Shehyni checkpoint and nine at the Krakivets checkpoint.
Thirty cars were waiting to cross the border with Slovakia at the Uzhhorod and Maly Berezny checkpoints, and three buses were waiting in line at the Uzhhorod checkpoint.
The queues at the border with Hungary were shorter: 15 cars had accumulated at the Tisa, Luzhanka, and Dzvinove checkpoints.
According to the State Border Service, there were no queues at the border with Romania, while at the border with Moldova, there was only a queue at the Mamalyga checkpoint, with 10 cars.
The total number of border crossings this week is roughly the same as last year. During a similar week last year (data for December 30 is not included for comparison), 231,000 people left Ukraine and 196,000 entered, while the flow of cars amounted to 79,000.
Last year, a 22.7% drop in passenger traffic was recorded during this week, and the following week it increased by 16.9%.
As reported, from May 10, 2022, the outflow of refugees from Ukraine, which began with the start of the war, was replaced by an influx that lasted until September 23, 2022, and amounted to 409,000 people. However, since the end of September, possibly influenced by news of mobilization in Russia and “pseudo-referendums” in the occupied territories, followed by massive shelling of energy infrastructure, the number of those leaving exceeded the number of those entering. In total, from the end of September 2022 to the first anniversary of the full-scale war, it reached 223,000 people.
During the second year of full-scale war, the number of border crossings to leave Ukraine, according to the State Border Service, exceeded the number of crossings to enter by 25,000, during the third year by 187,000, and since the beginning of the fourth year by 224,000.
As Serhiy Sobolev, then Deputy Minister of Economy, noted in early March 2023, the return of every 100,000 Ukrainians home results in a 0.5% increase in GDP.
In its July inflation report, the National Bank worsened its migration forecast: while in April it expected a net inflow of 0.2 million people to Ukraine in 2026, it now forecasts a net outflow of 0.2 million, which corresponds to the estimate of the net outflow this year. “Net return will only begin in 2027 (about 0.1 million people, compared to 0.5 million in the previous forecast),” the NBU added and confirmed this forecast at the end of October. In absolute terms, the National Bank estimates the number of migrants currently remaining abroad at about 5.8 million.
According to updated UNHCR data, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe as of December 11, 2025, was estimated at 5.311 million (5.331 million as of November 14), and 5.860 million (5.850 million) worldwide.
In Ukraine itself, according to the latest UN data for September this year, there are 3.694 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), compared to 3.340 million in July.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held interviews with candidates for the posts of regional administration heads on Sunday, he wrote on his Telegram channel.
“The conversations were thorough. I am grateful to everyone who is ready to take responsibility for the situation in the region and serve our state and people. Appointments will be made in the near future for the Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Ternopil, and Chernivtsi regions. I would like to thank the leaders who have served in these positions. The names of the new leaders will be announced after the formal procedures for preparing the appointments are completed,” the president said.
He noted that the key task of the leaders will be to strengthen local self-government, community resilience, and the ability of regions to protect lives and help communities in need. “Each of our regions, all our cities and communities must stand shoulder to shoulder in defending all of Ukraine,” Zelensky added.
