Sales of new passenger cars in October of this year decreased by 8.2% compared to the same month of 2019, to 8,340 cars, which is 602 cars (or 7.8%) more than in September of this year, AUTO-Consulting said on Monday.
In October, Renault returned to be a leader, managing to increase sales by 39% compared with September 2020, to 1,413 cars, while Toyota, which finished second, reduced sales by almost 3%, to 1,343 cars. The third position was taken by Kia with an increase in sales compared with September 2020 by 76.3%, to 825 cars.
AUTO-Consulting said that in October of this year, the fourth place was taken by Skoda (compared to the sixth in September), with a 43% increase in sales, and Volkswagen remained in the top five best sellers, but the sales of this brand decreased by 26%.
“An important event in October was Peugeot’s breakthrough to seventh place (from 16th in September 2020) with a 114% increase in sales, to 335 cars. Peugeot has already finished in the top 10 several times throughout the year, and it looks like the current success will become systemic,” AUTO-Consulting said.
At the same time, according to analysts’ estimates, it was indicative in October that key premium brands – Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus – remained without significant sales growth and finished with a decline in sales.
Taking into account October sales, the car market in January-October decreased by 3.3% compared to the same period in 2019.
As of November 2, Ukrainian agricultural producers harvested 70.5 million tonnes of basic crops from an area of 21.8 million hectares, in particular, 53.5 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops were harvested from an area of about 13.5 million hectares (88% of the forecast).
According to a report posted on the website of the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, the following crops were collected: corn – 17.6 million tonnes from an area of 3.6 million hectares (66%), sunflower – 12.1 million tonnes from 6.1 million hectares (95%), soybeans – 2.4 million tonnes from 1.2 million hectares (88%), millet – 240,400 tonnes from 147,800 hectares (98%) and buckwheat – 100,300 tonnes from 77,700 hectares (99%).
Some 5.1 million tonnes of sugar beet were dug out from an area of 124,000 hectares (57%).
The average retail price of petrol, diesel fuel and LPG grew by 1.8-2.5% from October 26 to November 2, according to Kyiv-based A-95 Consulting Group.
The average retail price of A-92 petrol grew by 2.5%, to UAH 23.15 per liter, A-95 – by 2.3%, to UAH 24.21 per liter and A-95+ – by 1.8%, to UAH 25.67 per liter.
The retail price of diesel fuel rose by 2.8%, to UAH 23.53 per liter, and the price of LPG grew by 1.4%, to UAH 12.74 per liter.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 04/11/20
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of november 04
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
German investors believe that the main problem in Ukraine is not corruption, but the work of the judicial branch of power, German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen has said.
“What German investors really need is the same rules for everyone. What always scares our investors is bad examples when even large German companies in Ukraine are under pressure from law enforcement agencies, like the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The reason for this is not clear to us. Companies just want to work quietly in Ukraine, to give jobs and make a profit. This is closely related to the judicial reform. Our investors tell me that corruption is no longer such a big problem,” the ambassador said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to her, in order to attract German small and medium-sized businesses to Ukraine, they need to be given good examples that they can invest in Ukraine and be calm.
“When I used to work in Ukraine, there was always the issue of VAT refund, now it is not. Now the problem is the possibility that competitors go to court for completely incomprehensible reasons, and for large German companies it is still possible, because they have lawyers, money and time. Very often they win lawsuits, but it lasts a long time. The German economy is a medium and small business, and in order to attract them to Ukraine, they need to give them good examples that they can invest in Ukraine and be calm,” Feldhusen said.
At the same time, the ambassador said that a German pharmaceutical company recently bought the Biopharma plant in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region. “This is a good example, because it did not happen in Kyiv, not in Kharkiv, not in Dnipro. This is a small city and it will be good for people,” she said.
“Another example is the Kostal company, which produces automotive electronics. They are already working in Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, and now they are opening a plant near Boryspil (both cities are located in Kyiv region). In this case, the question was about connecting the plant to the infrastructure. It is not at all clear why it was so difficult. They solved it with the help of the Ukrainian government. There will be a new plant and many new jobs,” the ambassador said.
Feldhusen said that German business has a desire to invest in Ukraine, only more good examples are lacking.
