Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works has begun supplying rolled steel to Metinvest’s pipe plant in Romania, Metinvest Tubular Iasi, which became part of the group at the end of 2025.
According to a press release on Thursday, since the beginning of 2026, the company has shipped 22,000 tons of hot-rolled structural steel certified to the European standard EN 10025. In total, up to 180,000 tons of rolled steel are planned to be supplied to the pipe plant this year.
“Zaporizhstal’s rolled products are in demand among European and Ukrainian pipe manufacturers: every year, up to 80% of our metal products are shipped for the manufacture of straight-seam pipes and profiles. We are pleased to welcome Romanian pipe manufacturers to the Metinvest Group and to establish a new format of cooperation to strengthen the economic partnership between Ukraine and Europe,” said Taras Shevchenko, acting CEO of Zaporizhstal, whose words are quoted in the report.
It is specified that hot-rolled products made of mild structural steels are in high demand in the pipe industry due to their mechanical properties, which ensure the reliability and strength of finished products. Such products can withstand significant loads, including impact loads, operate under pressure, weld well, and maintain stable performance characteristics.
“Zaporizhstal’s rolled products are used to manufacture round, profile, and rectangular welded pipes that comply with European standards EN 10219 and EN 10217 and are used in geothermal engineering, energy, construction, and fire extinguishing systems, among others. Zaporizhstal steel pipes have proven to fully meet high requirements during testing, so we are establishing long-term mutually beneficial cooperation with Zaporizhstal metallurgists,” said Cosmin Toma, CEO of Metinvest Tubular Iasi, as quoted by the company’s press service.
The largest consumers of pipes produced by Metinvest Tubular Yassy are the domestic market of Romania, as well as companies from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and other European countries.
As reported, Zaporizhstal produced 3.5 million tons of pig iron, 3.2 million tons of steel, and 2.8 million tons of rolled products in 2025.
Zaporizhstal is a joint venture of the Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Steel Limited (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the managing company of the Metinvest Group.
METINVEST, PLANT, ROLLED PRODUCTS, ROMANIA, SUPPLY, ZAPORIZHSTAL
The number of cars subject to luxury tax decreased threefold over the year
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 504 vehicles subject to luxury tax were imported into the country last year.
This is the lowest figure in the last five years. Porsche and Mercedes-Benz account for 89% of luxury vehicles, and every second such car is a Porsche Taycan. In total, electric cars account for 65% of all cars subject to luxury tax.
504 cars subject to the “luxury tax” were imported into Ukraine in 2025. This is 3.2 times less than in 2024. Overall, this is the lowest figure in the last five years.
Every second car on the “luxury” list is a Porsche Taycan: 232 cars. Overall, Porsche became the leader in the luxury segment with additional taxation: cars of this brand account for 64% of the total volume. Mercedes-Benz took another quarter of the market with 126 cars. The rest of the premium brands together account for 11% of the market: Audi, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Maserati, etc.
It is worth noting that, in contrast to overall imports, electric cars dominate the premium segment: 65% of imported luxury cars. Another 18% are hybrids that can run on electricity as well as gasoline or diesel. Pure gasoline cars, the leaders in overall imports, are at the bottom of the list with 17%. Diesel accounts for a symbolic 0.4%.
Almost half of all luxury cars are registered in Kyiv and the surrounding region: 236 cars. Another 52 cars are in Lviv region, 49 in Odesa region, and 37 in Dnipropetrovsk region.
Most of the cars in the luxury segment are registered to individuals — 82% or 413 cars. Only 18% of such cars are registered to businesses.
The ultra-premium segment deserves special attention. Last year, 21 Rolls-Royces were imported into Ukraine. Fifteen of them are the electric Spectre model, which costs about $600,000. The registry also includes seven Aston Martins and two Lamborghinis.
It should be noted that the “luxury tax” applies to cars costing more than UAH 3.2 million and less than 5 years old. The tax amount for one such car is UAH 25,000 per year.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/luxury-car-fee-2025
CAR, IMPORT, luxury, Porsche Taycan, TAX
The loan portfolio of the international financial service NovaPay (TM NovaPay) from the Nova group has exceeded UAH 2 billion, which is approximately 48.1% more than at the beginning of August 2025, when the figure reached UAH 1.35 billion, according to a statement released by the company on Wednesday.
NovaPay explained that the largest product in the portfolio remains installment plans, the volume of which increased from UAH 607 million to UAH 833 million compared to the beginning of August 2025.
Meanwhile, customer credit card liabilities grew at a faster pace, currently exceeding UAH 620 million in the portfolio, compared to UAH 232 million at the beginning of August 2025. The company specified that 60,000 people had applied for credit cards since their launch 10 months ago, with an average credit limit of UAH 30,000.
In addition, almost UAH 290 million in NovaPay’s loan portfolio is accounted for by “parcels on credit” – a product that was created in integration with Nova Poshta, the leader in express delivery in Ukraine, which is also part of the Nova group.
It is also noted that the business customer loan portfolio exceeded UAH 257 million.
As reported, NovaPay Credit increased its net profit by 1.8 times in January-September 2025 compared to the same period last year, to UAH 101.56 million, but according to the results of the year, it was planned to bring it to UAH 518.9 million, and in 2026 to increase it to UAH 1 billion 30.6 million by increasing net interest income from UAH 802.1 million to UAH 1 billion 515.1 million.
NovaPay was founded in 2001 as an international financial service, part of the Nova group (“Nova Poshta”), providing online and offline financial services in Nova Poshta branches. According to the website, the company employs about 13,000 people in more than 3,600 Nova Poshta branches throughout Ukraine. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the company accounts for about 35% of the total volume of domestic money transfers.
NovaPay was the first non-bank financial institution in Ukraine to receive an extended license from the NBU in 2023, which allowed it to open accounts and issue cards, and was also the first non-bank to launch its own financial application with a wide range of financial services at the end of last year.
Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s leading express delivery service and part of the NOVA group, has launched a pilot program to test Hypershell exoskeletons for use at terminals and depots, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We want to make work at terminals and depots safer and more comfortable for employees. Therefore, we are systematically reducing the physical load in those operational processes where full automation is currently more difficult to implement,” said Yevhen Khomenko, R&D director at Nova Poshta, in the release.
According to him, the company aims to make warehouse operations easier and more productive.
Nova Poshta also explained that as part of the pilot program, employees are testing four models of exoskeletons, namely Hypershell X GO, Hypershell X PRO, Hypershell X CARBON, and Hypershell X ULTRA. The main function of this technology is to take over up to 30% of the effort normally expended by muscles when walking or moving, thus making movement easier.
“This makes physical work easier, helps employees maintain a steady pace of work, and reduces fatigue by the end of the shift,” the company emphasized.
It is noted that after completing testing, Nova Poshta will make a decision on the further use of exoskeletons and the possible scaling of the technology.
In 2025, Nova Poshta increased its revenue by 21% compared to 2024. The number of parcels and cargo delivered in 2025 increased by 7.4% – from 486 million to 522 million, including international deliveries – by 52.6%, from 19 million to 29 million.
The main activity of Nova Poshta is the express delivery of documents, parcels, and palletized large-sized cargo. Its ultimate beneficial owners are Volodymyr Poperechnyuk and Vyacheslav Klimov.
As of early January 2026, the company’s network had more than 50,000 service points, including 15,900 branches and 34,200 post offices.
The Transport Logistics Center (TLC) branch of Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) will hold regular auctions on February 20 in the Prozorro.Prozori system for the distribution of grain cars at the end of February – beginning of March 2026, the company’s press service reported.
According to the report, 300 grain cars will be put up for auction. The lots are formed as follows: 20 lots of 5 cars, 10 lots of 10 cars, and two large lots of 50 cars, which can be used for both route and carload shipments.
The auction will be held in the format of an English auction (price increase – IF-U). The initial rate for the use of a car is UAH 2,000/day (excluding VAT).
The period for providing cars for loading is from February 25 to March 5, 2026. The unloading area is not limited, but loading from stations where conventional prohibitions are in force is prohibited.
Ukrzaliznytsia emphasized that from the third decade of February, priority in providing cars will be given to applications purchased through Prozorro.Sales. Regular applications will be satisfied on a residual basis.
As reported, Ukrzaliznytsia has intensified auction sales due to increased demand for freight transportation in the agricultural sector.
