Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Bus registrations fell by 6% in September – UkrAvtoprom

Initial registrations of new and used buses (including minibuses) in Ukraine in September 2025 decreased by 6% compared to the same month last year, to 233 units, UkrAvtoprom reported on its Telegram channel.

Compared to August of this year, when 259 buses were registered, the market shrank by 10%.

The share of new vehicles in September’s volume was 58%, while last year it was 63%.

Domestic ZAZ buses took the lead among new buses with 38 vehicles registered, while in September 2024, these buses ranked third with 24 vehicles.

Second place went to new Ataman buses from the Cherkasy Bus factory, with 29 units, which also ranked second last year with sales of 37 vehicles.

Etalon buses came in third among new buses with 19 units, having been the leaders a year ago with 60 buses.

Among used buses, Mercedes-Benz was the most frequently registered in September with 49 units, followed by VDL and Van Hool with 8 units each.

According to UkrAvtoprom, a total of 1,888 buses were added to Ukraine’s bus fleet in January-September 2025 (+33% compared to the same period in 2024). Of these, 935 were new (+16%) and 953 were used (+56%).

As reported, in 2024, initial registrations of new and used buses decreased by 19% compared to 2023, to 2,241 units, including new buses by 24%, to 1,296 units, and used buses by 12%, to 945 units.

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Alcazar Energy increases investment in Montenegro to $500 mln

According to Serbian Economist, Alcazar Energy, an international company operating in Serbia, among other countries, intends to increase its investment in Montenegro from the previously planned $200 million to $500 million, co-founder and managing partner Daniel Calderon said in an interview with the media.

According to Calderon, the company will begin construction of the 118.8 MW Bijela wind farm in the first quarter of 2026. The investment in the project will amount to about $200 million.

“We are preparing the site and purchasing equipment — this is a large and strategically important project. But this is only the first part of our investments in Montenegro,” Calderon said.

He added that over the next five years, the company’s investments could grow to half a billion dollars, and the total investment in the development of renewable energy sources in Montenegro could reach $4-5 billion by 2040.

“We expect that about 10% of these investments will go to Alcazar Energy projects, and these will be the first steps in a major energy transformation of the region,” Calderon said.

According to him, the company is considering the possibility of implementing several additional projects in Montenegro, but the details are not yet disclosed.

At the EU-Montenegro conference, 14 joint projects with European companies were presented, half of which are related to investments in wind farms, solar parks, and energy storage systems.

Alcazar Energy is an international company specializing in the development, construction, and management of renewable energy facilities.

Founded in 2014, it is headquartered in Dubai (UAE). The company is active in the MENAT region (Middle East, North Africa, Turkey) and the Balkans.

Its key projects include wind farms and solar power plants in Serbia, Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey. Alcazar recently began construction of the largest wind farm in the Western Balkans in North Macedonia.

Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/1587

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Prices for construction work have been rising for eight months in row

Prices for construction and installation work in Ukraine in August 2025 rose by 5.4% compared to August 2024, according to the State Statistics Service (SSS).

According to the statistics agency, in August 2025 compared to August 2024, prices increased in all segments of construction: in residential construction, the increase was 5.7%, in non-residential construction – 5.5%, and in engineering construction – 5.2%. At the same time, compared to July of this year, prices rose by 0.2%, 0.1%, and 0.6%, respectively.

In August 2025 to December 2024, prices for construction and installation works increased by 4%, while in the first eight months of 2025, construction prices increased by 6% compared to the same period a year earlier.

As reported, in 2024, prices for construction and installation works increased by 7.9% compared to the previous year, and in 2023, they rose by 15.8% compared to 2022.

The State Statistics Service indicated that the figures do not include temporarily occupied territories and parts of territories where hostilities are (were) ongoing.

 

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OKKO Group develops wind energy and builds bioethanol plant – Danylak

The OKKO Group, which includes the operator of the Galnaftogaz concern’s network of gas stations, plans to commission its first 147 MW wind farm in Ivanychi, Volyn Oblast, by the end of 2025 or the first quarter of 2026, said Vasyl Danylak, CEO of OKKO GROUP holding and co-founder of GORO Mountain Resort.

“I hope that by the end of this year, or possibly in the first quarter of next year, we will commission a 147 MW wind farm, which we are building jointly with the EBRD, IFC, and CDB,” Danylak said during the Kyiv International Economic Forum in Kyiv on Thursday.

According to him, the Group has already “launched” a new wind energy project next to the first one – the 192 MW Zatyrintsy wind farm.

In addition, Danylak noted that OKKO has completed the first phase of its bioethanol plant and is building the GORO Mountain Resort hotel complex at a “good pace.”

“We have built the silo section and completed construction work on the large bioethanol plant itself, and we plan to commission it next year. Our hotel has been under construction for a year now, and progress is very good. I hope that in the coming years we will make a big mark on the tourist map not only of Ukraine but also of Europe,” the head of OKKO shared his plans.

He noted that the Group is motivated to make large investments by new opportunities that have recently opened up.

“On the one hand, the war is a great tragedy that has exposed a number of problems in various sectors, particularly in energy. It turned out that the huge Soviet energy facilities were vulnerable. Therefore, the government and the Ministry of Energy set a course for decentralization of power generation. This is absolutely right. At that time, we had a shrinking fuel market and decided to work in related industries,” explained Danylyak.

He cited the transparency of the company’s activities, the clear fulfillment of its obligations, and a professional, motivated team as the keys to OKKO’s success and active cooperation with international financial organizations.

As reported, over the next five years, OKKO plans to have approximately 600 MW of capacity in wind energy, 200 MW in solar energy, and 150 MW in energy storage facilities (ESF).

In particular, the OKKO Group is building the 147 MW Ivanychi WPP in the Volyn region with a total cost of EUR 225 million (excluding VAT) and is seeking financing for its second wind energy project in this region – the 192 MW Zatyrintsy WPP, which is estimated at EUR 250 million (excluding VAT).

The Group also won a five-year special auction held by NPC Ukrenergo for the provision of power system balancing services, in which it announced the installation of a 20 MW energy storage facility (ESF). The commissioning of the ESF was announced in April.

In addition, the group plans to open a new 60,000-tonne elevator by autumn 2025 and a bioethanol plant in summer 2026. An important component of OKKO’s agricultural portfolio is its partnership with the Gadz-Agro enterprise in the Ternopil region, in which the company acquired a stake in 2023. The company cultivates 26,000 hectares of land and has about 10,000 head of cattle, of which 5,000 are dairy cows. It is also one of the largest horticultural farms in Ukraine, but OKKO has decided not to integrate the horticultural part of the business.

OKKO Group unites more than 10 diverse businesses in the fields of manufacturing, trade, construction, insurance, services, and other services. The flagship company of the group is Halnaftogaz, which operates one of the largest petrol station chains in Ukraine under the OKKO brand, with almost 400 petrol stations.

The founder and ultimate beneficiary of the group is Vitaliy Antonov.

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Glovo operates in more than 40 cities in Ukraine and generates 0.4% of GDP, according to company

The Glovo courier delivery service, which began operating in Ukraine in 2018, has invested more than EUR 160 million in the business during this time, said Marina Pavlyuk, CEO of Glovo in Ukraine, at the Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) on Thursday.

“We are ready to invest more. This year, probably around EUR 25 million, but security and guarantees are still an open question. For now, we are relying on the initiative of investors and the dedication of our team, which is ready to convince investors that we need to work here despite all the challenges,” Pavliuk said, according to a correspondent from the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

According to her, six years ago, the relevant committees of the Rada began working on a mechanism that could regulate the issue of “self-employed” in this market, but only on October 15 this year did the relevant parliamentary committee recommend adopting the relevant bill in the first reading. According to Pavliuk, the bill takes into account the interests of various groups, including marketplaces.

“We are awaiting the second reading and finalization. We are in favor of digitalization, we are helping the state make the right decision, and we hope that there will be political will, because this means revenue for the country’s budget and stability in terms of long-term investments,” emphasized the CEO of Glovо.

Pavliuk added that the total amount of potential revenues to the state budget could be around UAH 7 billion.

According to the CEO of Glovо, as of 2024, the company was responsible for 0.4% of GDP.

In a comment to Interfax-Ukraine, Pavlyuk said that the company currently operates in more than 40 cities in Ukraine. In some cities, Glovо has ceased operations due to the occupation, particularly in Mariupol and Berdyansk.

“In general, the last places we expanded to were Pavlohrad in the east and Kovel in the northwest,” she said.

According to her, it is important for the company to have other businesses operating in the city, partners.

“We often exchange signals with our partners. They give us a better understanding of which cities we can potentially launch in. There are currently several cities of the same size (IF-U) in the works, so we’ll see how it all goes next year,” Pavlyuk clarified.

 

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Vodafone Ukraine will install 100 solar power plants at base stations by 2026

Ukraine’s second-largest mobile operator, VFU (Vodafone Ukraine), plans to install solar power plants (SPPs) at 100 mobile base stations across Ukraine by the end of 2025 – early 2026, according to a company press release.

It is noted that the total installed capacity of the SPPs is 360 kW, each system will include solar panels and inverters with a capacity of 3.6 kW, which will allow the use of solar energy during peak loads or power outages.

The operator noted that such systems will reduce consumption from the centralized power grid by about 300 MWh per year, reduce the load on the power system during peak hours, reduce CO2 emissions by 210 tons per year, and generate savings by reducing electricity costs.

Vodafone Ukraine added that the technology was tested over four seasons at three base stations in the Poltava region and the city of Dnipro. The pilot projects revealed a significant reduction in electricity consumption from the grid, a reduction in the load on the power grid during the day, and the reliability of the technology in climatic conditions, especially during periods of high solar activity.

As reported, Vodafone Ukraine reduced its net profit by 13% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, to UAH 1.705 billion, while its revenue grew by 15%, to UAH 13.518 billion.

In the first half of the year, the company increased its investments by 66% compared to the same period in 2024, investing more than UAH 3.5 billion in critical infrastructure, and in total, over 3.5 years of full-scale war, investments in Ukraine reached almost UAH 19 billion. In the structure of investments in the first half of this year, 51% is accounted for by the construction and restoration of the network, as well as its preparation for operation during blackouts, 31% – network maintenance, 11% – fixed-line communications development, and 4% – the billing exchange program.

Vodafone Ukraine has been part of NEQSOL Holding since December 2019.

 

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