Retail sales of passenger cars in China in 2025 increased by 3.9% – the slowest pace in three years, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). In 2024, sales growth was 5.3%.
Sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids rose 17.6% last year after jumping 40.7% a year earlier. At the same time, annual sales of such vehicles in the country exceeded sales of traditional vehicles for the first time.
Car exports from China rose 19.4% last year to 5.79 million units. Exports of electric vehicles jumped 48.8% to 1.52 million units, the CPCA reported.
Domestic demand for new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China declined after subsidies for buyers were reduced or discontinued in many cities and provinces across the country.
According to the CPCA forecast, car sales in China will remain at 2025 levels in 2026, and the growth rate of electric vehicle exports will slow down.
Initial registrations of used passenger cars imported from abroad in 2025 increased by 22% compared to 2024, reaching 278,630 units, according to the Automotive Market Research Institute.
The annual import rating is headed by the unchanged leader — Volkswagen (37,200 cars), which, according to experts, offers everything from budget options to premium crossovers, as well as buses and vans.
“Audi (25,900) ranks second, which indicates Ukrainians’ high demand for comfort and status,” the Institute’s website says.
At the same time, it is noted that the main event of the year was Tesla’s entry into the top three with 24,140 cars registered.
“The purely electric brand surpassed many traditional competitors, becoming a symbol of the ‘green’ craze of 2025,” the report states.
The top five are rounded out by Nissan (21,600) and Renault (almost 17,000), which maintain their positions thanks to a combination of popular electric cars and practical diesel cars from Europe.
Next in the top ten brands are BMW, Hyundai, Ford, KIA, and Skoda.
Experts note that Volkswagen Golf retained its leadership in the model ranking (10,670), but its lead over its competitors is minimal (and not without the help of e-Golf).
The main competitor is the Tesla Model Y (10,550), and third place goes to the Tesla Model (9,200). Fourth in the ranking is the Skoda Octavia (7,700), and fifth is the Nissan Leaf (7,500).
“As for premium models, last year the Ukrainian car fleet was replenished with Porsche (1,265 units), Maserati (97), Lamborghini (21), Rolls-Royce (17), and the same number of Bentley, Ferrari (8), Aston Martin (6), and one McLaren,” the report says.
Experts report that in December last year, 41,700 used imported foreign cars were submitted for first registration, which is almost 2.7 times more than in December 2024 and 75.3% more than in November 2025.
The report notes that since the beginning of 2025, import volumes have gradually increased: from 14,500 cars in January to almost 42,000 in December.
“The last time such volumes of ”freshly imported“ cars were seen was in 2022, during the temporary ”zero customs clearance” period. Now, this activity has been caused by the ‘race for electric cars’, as VAT on their import was introduced on January 1,” experts note, stating that this is why Tesla is among the top three leaders.
“Overall, we have seen a 22% increase in imports over the year, but it should be understood that a significant portion of these cars were purchased ‘in advance’. We have actually taken a portion of sales in 2026, so now the warehouses are full, and there will be no such rush in the coming months,” Stanislav Buchatsky, head of the Automotive Market Research Institute, is quoted as saying in the report.
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.
The volume of passenger car imports to Ukraine, including cargo-passenger vans and racing cars (UKT ZED code 8703), exceeded $5.48 billion in January-November 2025, which is 37.2% more than in the same period of 2024 (almost $4 billion) and a quarter more than in the whole of 2024.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, the growth rate of passenger car imports has thus accelerated, reaching 33% in the first ten months of the year compared to the same period in 2024.
In particular, in November this year, passenger cars worth $663.3 million were imported into Ukraine, which is 84% more than in November last year.
The top three suppliers of cars to Ukraine in the first 11 months of this year were the US, Germany, and China, while last year they were the US, Germany, and Japan.
In particular, car deliveries from the US increased by 28% to $940 million, and their share in the structure of car imports was 17.4% compared to 18.4% a year earlier.
Cars worth $933.8 million (53.4% more) were imported from Germany to Ukraine, and almost $870 million (15.9% of passenger car imports) from China. Last year, imports from Japan, which was among the top three leaders, amounted to $482.8 million (11.6%).
Imports of passenger cars from other countries during the period amounted to $2.74 billion, compared to $2.19 billion in January-November 2024.
At the same time, in the first 11 months of this year, Ukraine exported only $7.23 million worth of such vehicles, in particular to the UAE, Canada, and the US, while a year ago, during the same period, the country supplied $9.5 million worth of such vehicles to foreign markets, mainly to Canada, Germany, and the US.
According to the State Customs Service, passenger cars accounted for 7.27% of the total structure of imports to Ukraine in January-November 2025 and 0.02% of the export structure.
As reported, in 2024, passenger cars worth $4.385 billion were imported into Ukraine, which is 8% more than a year earlier, and $10.1 million worth were exported (2.7 times less).
Ukrainians purchased about 8,300 new passenger cars in November 2025, which is 58% more than in November 2024 and 6% more than in the previous month, Ukravtoprom reported on its Telegram channel.
According to the association, this result is a record high for the last 14 months.
As reported, in October 2025, this market grew by a third compared to October 2024, to 7,800 new passenger cars.
The most popular brand of the month was again the Chinese BYD with 1,615 cars registered (last November, the brand was eighth with 178 cars).
The top ten most popular brands also included last November’s leader Toyota with 859 units (1% less than last year), Volkswagen with 798 units (+78.5%), Renault with 577 units (+8.3%), Skoda with 561 units (+9%), Zeekr with 397 units (5.2 times more than last year, when it was ranked 20th), Hyundai with 363 units (+96%), Honda with 341 units (2.7 times more), BMW – 239 units (-21.6%) and Audi – 239 units (two more cars).
The Renault Duster was the bestseller of the month.
Thus, according to Ukravtoprom, taking into account the results of November, in January-November, the market accelerated the positive dynamics that began in the first 10 months, with 68,900 new passenger cars sold, which is 7.5% more than last year.
Earlier it was reported that experts attribute this situation on the market for new passenger cars to the approaching deadline for the abolition of incentives for electric vehicles.
According to AUTO-Consulting, Ukrainians purchased 8,530 new passenger cars in November 2025, which is 61% more than in the same month last year and 7% more than in October 2025, with the share of electric vehicles increasing to 40%.
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.
The volume of passenger car imports to Ukraine, including cargo-passenger vans and racing cars (UKT ZED code 8703), in January-October 2025 amounted to almost $4.82 billion, which is 32.6% more than in the same period of 2024 ($3.63 billion) and 10% more than in the whole of 2024.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, the growth rate of passenger car imports has thus accelerated, reaching 27.4% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2024.
In October this year, passenger cars worth $647.8 million were imported into Ukraine, which is 81% more than in October last year.
The top three suppliers of cars to Ukraine in January-October this year were Germany, the US, and China, while last year they were the US, Germany, and Japan. In particular, car deliveries from Germany increased by 52% to $841.3 million, and their share in the structure of car imports was 17.45% compared to 15.23% a year earlier.
Cars worth $839.7 million (25.4% more) were imported from the US to Ukraine, and $663 million (13.8% of passenger car imports) from China. Last year, imports from Japan, which was among the top three leaders, amounted to almost $430 million (11.8%).
Imports of passenger cars from other countries during the period amounted to $2.476 billion, compared to $1.981 billion in January-October 2024.
At the same time, in the first 10 months of this year, Ukraine exported only $7.17 million worth of such vehicles, in particular to the UAE, Canada, and the US, while a year ago, during the same period, the country supplied $9.33 million worth of such vehicles to foreign markets, mainly to Canada, Germany, and the US.
According to the State Customs Service, in the overall structure of imports of goods to Ukraine in January-October 2025, the share of passenger cars was 7.1% (6.3% last year), and in the structure of exports – 0.02% (0.03%).
As reported, in 2024, passenger cars worth $4.385 billion were imported into Ukraine, which is 8% more than a year earlier, and $10.1 million worth were exported (2.7 times less).
