The market of new passenger cars has added 50-60% in 1.5 months amid the government’s initiative to introduce a 15% military tax on car buyers, according to AUTO-Consulting, an information and analytical group.
“It is safe to say that rumors of a 15% additional tax have activated about 4000+ buyers of new cars in 1.5 months. And this added 50-60% to the market. We can’t think of a more effective advertising campaign,” the group said in a statement on its website.
At the same time, in August, AUTO-Consulting recorded a 36 percent increase in sales by August 2023 and a 38 percent increase by July this year – up to 8.3 thousand units, and noted that such a number of cars have not been sold in Ukraine in a month for a long time.
“At the end of July, the beginning of the rush was already recorded, which brought a thousand additional cars to the car market,” the report recalls.
As reported, on July 18, the Cabinet of Ministers submitted to the Rada Bill No. 11416 on amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine, which, in particular, proposed to levy 15% of the military tax on car buyers, which was opposed by a number of car business representatives.
In late August, the finalized draft law no longer contained this provision.
AUTO-Consulting notes that not all dealers were ready for such a sharp jump in sales, but the market leader Toyota confidently kept its pace (up 44.5% compared to July), and Renault managed to move up to second place from third in July with a 76.2% increase in sales. BMW has consolidated its position in the top three, while Skoda, which took fourth place, almost doubled its sales.
“It is interesting that for the second month we have seen an abnormal number of electric vehicles – 16%, and some brands of ‘Chinese imports’ have already registered in the top ten,” the group’s analysts note.
At the same time, they suggest that some of these cars were indeed purchased, but a significant amount was simply registered by dealers to avoid the possible consequences of a 15% rise in price during the introduction of the military tax.
“Therefore, we will see the real volume of “electric trains” by the end of September, when the excitement around the new taxes will disappear,” they summarize.
AUTO-Consulting also emphasizes that not only the threat of the military tax has activated the car market – during the month there were large purchases by corporate clients, many cars were bought by the state, so this is a complex result.
According to Opendatabot, more than 228 thousand cars were imported into Ukraine in 7 months of 2024, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is 14.2% more than last year. 71% of all imported cars this year were used. This year, the average age of imported cars is 9 years. Demand for electric cars increased by 83%.
228,319 vehicles were imported to Ukraine in the first 7 months of 2024. This is 14.2% more than in the same period of 2023, when 199,980 cars were imported.
71% of the cars imported this year were used. Currently, the average age of imported used vehicles is 9 years. 42% of used cars imported to Ukraine are 10 years old or older.
Most of the newly imported cars were registered in Kyiv – 13.7%. Lviv (10.2%) and Odesa (7.4%) regions are also in the top 3.
Ukrainians are in stable demand:
VOLKSWAGEN – 25,498 cars (11.2%)
RENAULT – 17,479 cars (7.7%)
AUDI – 13,173 cars or 5.8%.
In terms of models, SKODA OCTAVIA was imported the most – 5,047 units. The next positions were taken by VOLKSWAGEN GOLF and VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT – 4,965 and 4,147 cars respectively.
Gasoline cars remain the most popular – almost every second car imported this year. Diesel cars accounted for 27.5% of the cars imported this year. Despite the fact that imports of electric cars increased 1.8 times over the year, they accounted for only 13.1% of newly imported cars in total.
The President of Uzbekistan visited the BYD Uzbekistan Factory in the Jizzakh region and signed the first cars that rolled off the assembly line.
This is the first stage of a $160 million project. The plant currently produces two models of the brand’s cars. Theannual production capacity of the first stage is50 thousand units.
Thesecond stage of the $300 million project is expected to increase production to 200 thousand electric vehicles per year (in 2027-2028), 350 thousand in 2028-2029, and the third stage of the $500 million project will increase productionto500 thousand electric vehicles (starting in 2030).
For reference: In January-May 2024, Uzbekistan produced a total of 162,608 units of cars. Source – UzAUTO.
The joint venture has been provided with modern industrial infrastructure and nearly 2 km of railway tracks have been laid. The plant has modern equipment and robotic systems from China. The production process is automated. A laboratory for high-precision inspection of the geometric dimensions of electric vehicles has been set up.
As the number of electric vehicles increases, the level of localization is expected to gradually increase. First of all, the production of bumpers, glass, lacquered and plastic parts will be launched. In the future, it is planned to produce batteries, electric motors, aluminum parts, tires and seats.
In the future, the plant plans to export electric vehicles to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan.
BYD, CARS, PLANT, UZBEKISTAN
More than 160 thousand vehicles were imported to Ukraine in 5 months of 2024, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). Only 28% of imported cars in 2024 were new.
160,750 vehicles were imported to Ukraine in 5 months of 2024. This is 21% more than in the same period in 2023.
The most popular brand among all imported cars this year was VOLKSWAGEN – 18,771 cars or 11.7% of the total. RENAULT was in second place with 13,187 vehicles (8.2%), and AUDI took third place with 9,137 cars (5.7%). The most popular models among imported cars were SKODA OCTAVIA, VOLKSWAGEN GOLF and PASSAT.
Gasoline cars remain the most popular – almost every second imported car. Diesel cars accounted for 29% of cars imported this year. Electric cars accounted for 12.9%.
72% of all imported cars this year were used. Currently, the average age of imported cars is 10 years.
The largest number of newly imported cars was registered in Kyiv – 13.9%. Lviv (10.2%) and Odesa (7.5%) regions are also in the top 3.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/autoimport-2024-5
The Chinese authorities plan to pay car owners up to 10 thousand yuan ($1.4 thousand) if they replace their cars with all-electric or hybrid ones this year, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In addition, the government will provide subsidies of 7 thousand yuan to those who change cars to traditional ones with engines of no more than 2 liters.
Following the news, American Depository Receipts (ADRs) for shares of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers rose in price on Friday, including Nio – by 9.4%, XPeng – by 11.1%, Li Auto – by 7%, BYD – by 3.7%.
The Stellantis representative office in Ukraine (Peugeot, Citroёn, Opel, DS Automobiles, Jeep) sold approximately 5.1 thousand new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in its dealer network in 2023, taking more than 7% of the market, the representative office’s press service reports.
As reported, in 2022, the share of Stellantis brands, whose sales amounted to 3 thousand units, accounted for 6.84% of the passenger car and light commercial vehicle market.
Thus, in 2023, car sales of the five brands increased by almost 70%, and the market share increased slightly, given that the market for new passenger cars and LCVs grew by 63.5% by 2022 to 65.1 thousand units (including 65.1 thousand passenger cars and about 7.4 thousand commercial vans/vans).
“Thus, the total growth of Stellantis brands exceeded the growth of the new car market in Ukraine by 6%. Moreover, the end of the year was very positive: in December, sporadic sales growth allowed Stellantis to take 9.7% of the market, which may signal a steady increase in sales in 2024,” the press service said.
According to the representative office, Peugeot became the sales leader among the brands (in 2022, Citroen won this position from it – IF-U) with a 74% increase in sales to 2.17 thousand units, which allowed it to take about 3% of the car market (in 2022 – 2.81%).
The best-selling models were the crossovers Peugeot 3008 (470 units) and Peugeot 2008 (348 units), while vans and vans Peugeot Boxer (294 units), Peugeot Partner (168 units) and Peugeot Rifter (144 units) were consistently popular.
Among passenger cars, the Peugeot 301 sedan (198 units) and the new Peugeot 408 crossover fastback (194 units sold in less than a year on the market) were good sellers.
In addition, the company considers the launch of a completely new product – the Peugeot Landtrek pickup truck – a success (225 vehicles sold in less than a year).
Sales of the Citroen brand increased by 58% to more than 2 thousand units, which allowed it to take 2.8% of the market (in 2022 – 2.87%).
Among passenger cars, the most popular models were the large Citroen C5 Aircross crossover (386 units sold), the Citroen C-Elysee sedan (340 units) and the Citroen C3 compact hatchback (196 units), and among commercial vehicles – the large Citroen Jumper (498 units) and the compact Citroen Berlingo (368 units).
“Thanks to the wide LCV lineup, Citroen is becoming a leader in sales of special vehicles and converted vehicles,” the press release states.
Sales of the German brand Opel, according to Stellantis Ukraine, increased by 96.5% last year to 890 units, with a market share of 1.2%, and the best-selling vehicles were the compact Opel Combo (344 units) and the mid-size crossover Opel Grandland (297 units). The compact crossovers Opel Mokka (104 units) and Opel Crosland (74 units) were in good demand.
The premium brand DS Automobiles sold 69 units (in 2022 – 62 units), with the largest number of DS 4 hatchbacks sold (47 units).
The company considers its relaunch by a new importer to be the main achievement for the Jeep brand in the Ukrainian market.
“The comprehensive ‘relaunch’ of the brand in Ukraine took place at the end of 2023, so Jeep’s sales results are not yet indicative. However, 2024 should demonstrate the full strength of the brand, especially given the replenishment of the model lineup,” the press release said.
As reported, the lineup for the brand launch has been formed, price lists have been announced, and new dealerships are starting to operate in the largest cities of Ukraine.
“This year, the model lineup will be complemented by the compact crossover Jeep Avenger, which is already on the market,” the press release said.
The report reminds that Stellantis Ukraine has been providing free repairs of state and municipal vehicles since March 2022: 2.7 thousand vehicles have been repaired to date, more than 10.5 thousand applications for repairs and maintenance have been submitted, and the total cost of work exceeds UAH 75 million.
Stellantis was formed in mid-January 2021 as a result of the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA).
