The Ministry of Defense of Japan held a ceremony of transferring to Ukraine 100 vehicles and 30,000 ready-made food rations for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergey Korsunsky said.
“Today in the Ministry of Defense of Japan there was a ceremony of handing over to Ukraine 100 vehicles and 30,000 ready-made food rations for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The first two vehicles are already on their way to Ukraine, the others will be sent after passing the technical inspection and necessary preparation,” he wrote on Facebook.
The ambassador stressed that for the first time in Japan’s post-war history, the Self-Defense Forces are transferring military equipment to a belligerent country.
“Continuation follows,” Korsunsky added.
Primary registrations of used cars imported from abroad in April 2023 increased by almost 8% compared to March 2023 – up to 15.3 thousand units, which was the highest number of registrations per month since the beginning of the year, said the association “Ukravtoprom” in Telegram-channel.
The largest share in this segment of the car market belongs to gasoline cars – 45%, followed by diesel cars – 36%, electric cars – 11%, cars with HFO – 5% and hybrids – 3%.
The average age of used cars that switched to Ukrainian plates in April is 11 years.
According to the Association, the top five of the market of used cars compared to March has not changed: the most popular is still Renault Megane – 1273 units, the second result has Volkswagen Golf – 1180 units, the third – Skoda Octavia – 794 units. Volkswagen Passat (694 units) and Ford Focus (377 units) are at the end of the leading five.
Besides, the TOP-10 of the month includes: Nissan Leaf – 366 units; Nissan Qashqai – 337 units; VW Touran – 320 units; Skoda Fabia – 277 units; AUDI A4 – 270 units.
As reported with reference to Ukravtoprom, 5.16 thousand new cars were registered in Ukraine in April, i.e. almost three times less.
“Ukravtoprom” informs that in January-April, 54.5 thousand used cars, imported from abroad, got the first registration in Ukraine, which is 3.3 times more than the sales of new cars during the same period.
Ukrainians in 2022 registered 388.5 thousand imported used foreign cars, which is nearly a quarter less than a year earlier, but more than 10 times more than the market of new cars.
The adoption by the European Union of new carbon dioxide standards for cars and buses is postponed to a later date due to opposition from Germany, some other countries and the center-right wing of European lawmakers, the representative office of Sweden, which holds the EU Council presidency, said.
“The vote (originally scheduled for next week – IF) will take place at a later (EU) Council meeting,” the Swedish presidency said Friday, noting that no date has yet been set.
Last year, EU lawmakers and member state governments agreed that manufacturers must cut emissions from new cars by 55 percent by 2030 from 2021 levels and 100 percent in 2035. In effect, this means that sales of new cars that run on hydrocarbon fuels, such as petroleum products, will be banned.
Some countries, including Germany, have asked the European Commission (EC) to make an exception for cars running on “green fuel. It can be made from renewable energy sources and carbon emitted from the air. However, the EC is still silent.
The center-right European People’s Party (EPP), the largest faction in the European Parliament, opposes the ban and calls on the governments of the Union to do so.
The EPP’s chief negotiator on the issue, Jens Gieseke, motivated the conservatives’ position by the fact that the ban would hinder innovation, lead to the loss of thousands of jobs and the decline of a crucial European industry.
“The world will continue to drive cars with internal combustion engines. Our job is to make them as CO2-efficient as possible, not to ban them. Green fuels can help,” Gieseke said.
The European Greens are of a different opinion. Their leader in the European Parliament, Philippe Lambert, believes that this should not be a topic for further debate. Germany has already agreed to phase out internal combustion engines, and Brussels has already decided on this. Germany must remain a reliable European partner, he said in a statement sent to journalists.
Ukrainian car market of new passenger cars decreased by 61.5% compared to the prewar year 2021 – down to about 40 thousand units, informs AUTO-Consulting.
“But the main thing is that the Ukrainian car market survived, it exists even during the war. Thanks for that to the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” – the website of information-analytical group reports.
At the same time, AUTO-Consulting states that the results of last year for the car market were the worst since 2000.
“For example, in 2015, when there was also a significant drop due to military action, the market reached 46.5 thousand cars and showed a 50% decrease,” – noted in the message.
On its Facebook page AUTO-Consulting also cites preliminary results of sales of new passenger cars in December – sold 4,009 cars, which is almost 23% more than in November-2022. Toyota remained the leader with 27.4% market share, Skoda came second in November (10.3%), while Suzuki (7.9%) moved up to third place from eighth. Renault, which was in second place in November 2022, moved down to fifth place (5.7% of the market).
According to the group, the market of new light commercial vehicles (LCV) in 2022 decreased by 69% – to 4 thousand units, and, as the analysts note, the total volume of 44 thousand sold cars and light commercial vehicles was the lowest since 1997-1998, when the market of new passenger cars was about 30 thousand units.
At the same time, the company noted that this year the leading operators of Ukrainian car market expect positive dynamics.
As reported, in 2021, sales of new cars, according to Auto-Consulting increased by 20% in 2021 – to 103.65 thousand units.
Primary registrations of new commercial vehicles in Ukraine (trucks and special vehicles) in November decreased by almost 2.5% compared to October of this year – up to 497 units, which is also 66% less than in November-2021, reported “Ukravtoprom” in Telegram-channel.
As reported, in October there was a 17% drop in registrations compared to September-2022 – up to 510 cars.
The best result for the second month in a row is shown by German brand Mercedes-Benz – 99 cars, which is 34% more than last November and 17% more than in October this year.
Renault is second, with 21 fewer registrations compared to October, down to 55 cars (-77% compared to November 2021), and Scania is third, with 49 cars, up 2.3 times from November 2021 and moving from 16th to third place (in October 2022, sixth place with 36 cars).
MAN – 41 vehicles (+5% compared to November of the last year) and Volvo – 34 vehicles (+42%) also made it to the top 5.
As reported, in November 2021, 1479 commercial cars were registered in Ukraine, which is 51% more than a year before. The top five includes Citroen, Renault, Fiat, Peugeot and Belarusian MAZ (Mercedes was in the 6th place).
According to Ukravtoprom, a total of 5.9 thousand new commercial vehicles were registered in Ukraine in January-November 2022, which is 2.4 times less than during the same period in 2021.
In turn, according to the information published on the website of AUTO-Consulting information-analytical group, in the segment of trucks weighing over 3.5 tons, the dealers managed to maintain the positive dynamics and retain the market, even during blackouts.
According to the experts of the group, in November they sold more than 300 such cars – 22% less than in November-2021 and 37% less than in October-2022.
At the same time, analysts note the ongoing trend of dealers searching for replacements for Russian and Belarusian chassis for special-purpose vehicles – in particular, in addition to Iveco and Chinese brands, they began to actively use Peugeot chassis.
As reported, according to Ukravtoprom in 2021 new trucks and special vehicles were 15.9 thousand units. – 37% more than in 2020.
As part of the Steel Front military initiative founded by Rinat Akhmetov, more than 2,000 drones and walkie-talkies, 700 cars and half a million liters of fuel were handed over to Ukrainian soldiers, the businessman’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
He also handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine more than 150,000 bulletproof vests produced at SCM enterprises. “For this, metallurgists have mastered the technology of smelting special armored steel of a high level of protection, and also found contractors who sew plate carriers,” the press service reports.
In addition to bulletproof vests, the soldiers also received other means of protection: more than 20,000 helmets and 40,000 first-aid kits produced in accordance with NATO standards. “Because this war is primarily a war of high technology, Akhmetov has directed millions to purchase cars, drones and walkie-talkies – this is what gives our soldiers an advantage at the front,” the text says.
More than 1,011 modern drones and 1,292 walkie-talkies, 1,600 special devices (thermal imagers, rangefinders) have already been handed over to the military. To ensure the mobility of the units, the SCM businesses handed over more than 700 vehicles to the front, primarily reliable off-road vehicles, and provided them with fuel. In total, 595,000 liters of fuel were sent to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and peaceful cities.
“We do not plan to stop and will do everything to bring Ukraine’s victory closer. And we will definitely win,” Akhmetov said.
As reported, since the beginning of the war, SCM companies have sent over UAH 3 billion to help Ukraine and Ukrainians, and this figure is growing every day.
