Sales of new passenger cars to private customers in May 2026 fell by 29% compared to the same month in 2025, while corporate sales rose by 7%, Ukravtoprom reported on its Telegram channel.
According to the association, private customers accounted for 63% of total new passenger car sales in May 2026 (5,500 units), while corporate customers accounted for 37%.
When purchasing new passenger cars, private buyers preferred the Mazda CX-5 (171 units); Hyundai Tucson (154 units); Skoda Kodiaq (113 units); BMW 3 Series (111 units); and Nissan X-Trail (110 units).
Meanwhile, among corporate buyers, the models in highest demand were the Renault Duster (334 units); the Skoda Octavia (87 units); the Toyota Hilux (71 units); the Skoda Kodiaq (69 units); and the Toyota RAV-4 (65 units).
As previously reported, in May 2026, sales of new passenger cars, according to Ukravtoprom, fell by 18% compared to May 2025 and were 11% lower than in April of this year.
According to the association, the largest regional markets in May were Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Odesa Oblast, and Lviv Oblast: together, they accounted for 66% of May’s new passenger car sales. Specifically, 2,111 new cars were purchased in the capital, 577 in Kyiv Oblast, 397 in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, 269 in Odesa Oblast, and 251 in Lviv Oblast.
The best-selling model of the month in these markets—except for Lviv Oblast—was the Renault Duster compact crossover, while in Lviv Oblast, it was the Skoda Kodiaq midsize crossover.
CAR MARKET, Mazda CX-5, PASSENGER CARS, Renault Duster, UKRAVTOPROM
The volume of passenger car imports into Ukraine, including cargo-passenger vans and racing cars (HS code 8703), amounted to $1.71 billion in January–May 2026, which is 16.6% less than the figure for the same period in 2025 ($2.05 billion).
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, specifically in May, passenger car imports fell by 23.6% compared to May of last year, while compared to April 2026, they rose by 11.2% to $400.4 million.
The top three suppliers of passenger cars to Ukraine over the five-month period were the United States, Germany, and Japan, while in the previous year these were the same countries, but Germany was the largest exporter, followed by the United States and Japan. Specifically, car imports from the U.S. fell by 5.6% to $317.4 million, from Germany by nearly 30% to $272.6 million, while from Japan they rose by 7.3% to $246.9 million.
Imports of passenger cars from other countries during this period totaled $874.6 million—20.3% less than last year’s figure.
At the same time, over five months, Ukraine exported such vehicles worth only $0.99 million, whereas last year, total shipments to the UAE, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia amounted to $2.69 million.
As reported, in 2025, passenger cars worth nearly $6.15 billion were imported into Ukraine, which is 40.2% more than in 2024. The top three exporters were the United States, Germany, and China. Cars worth $10.1 million were exported (2.7 times less).
The significant increase in passenger car imports to Ukraine in the final months of 2025 was driven by news that VAT exemptions on electric vehicle imports would be abolished as of January 1, 2026, while imports had declined significantly since the start of the current year. However, starting in March, a slow but gradual recovery of the passenger car market began, including the market for electric vehicles.
CAR MARKET, IMPORTS, PASSENGER CARS, STATE CUSTOMS SERVICE, UKRAINE
The volume of passenger car imports into Ukraine, including cargo-passenger vans and racing cars (UKT VED code 8703), in January-May 2025 amounted to almost $2.052 billion in monetary terms, which is 5.3% more than in the same period last year ($1.947 billion).
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine, in May this year, passenger cars worth $523.8 million were imported into Ukraine, which is 30% more than in May 2024.
The three largest suppliers of cars to Ukraine in January-May this year were Germany, the US, and Japan, while last year the US led the top three. In particular, car deliveries from Germany increased by 35% to $388.6 million, and their share in the structure of car imports amounted to almost 19% against 14.8% a year earlier.
The United States imported $336.2 million worth of cars to Ukraine (down 7.6%), while imports from Japan fell by 4.8% to $230 million.
Imports of passenger cars from other countries during the reporting period amounted to almost $1.1 billion, compared with $1.05 billion in January-May last year.
At the same time, in January-May this year, Ukraine exported only $2.7 million worth of such vehicles, in particular to the UAE (49.4% of exports), the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, while a year ago, during the same period, it supplied $7.18 million worth of such vehicles to foreign markets, mainly to Canada, the UAE, and the US.
According to the State Customs Service, passenger cars accounted for 6.56% of Ukraine’s total imports in January-May (7.07% last year) and 0.02% of exports (0.04%).
As reported, in 2024, passenger cars worth $4.385 billion were imported into Ukraine, 8% more than a year ago, and $10.1 million worth were exported (2.7 times less).
Since the beginning of the year, Ukrainians have imported over 181,000 passenger cars, of which almost 80% are used. Despite the significant quantitative advantage of such vehicles, new cars accounted for almost half of the total import value – $1.2 billion out of $2.57 billion. At the same time, the value of used cars is $1.37 billion.
Used cars provided UAH 16 billion in customs duties to the state budget, while new cars provided UAH 10.7 billion.
The type of fuel chosen by Ukrainian consumers reflects both stable preferences and gradual changes in trends. Gasoline cars remain the most popular, accounting for almost half (48.5%) of all imports. Electric cars are in second place (22.1%), not only overtaking diesel (20.6%) but also significantly outperforming hybrids (8.8%).
Electric transport has become the most dynamic segment of the car market. Since the beginning of the year, more than 40,000 electric vehicles with a total value of $810 million have been imported into Ukraine. For comparison, twice as many gasoline cars were imported, but their total value is not much higher — $818 million.
If this trend continues, 2025 could be a record year for the number of electric cars imported.
The average cost of an electric car imported into Ukraine is over $20,000, a diesel car is almost $13,000, and a gasoline car is over $9,000.
It is also interesting that electric cars, although they belong to the more expensive segment, brought a relatively modest 333 million hryvnia in customs duties to the budget. This is due to the current tax breaks on imports of electric vehicles. For comparison, taxes on imports of gasoline cars amounted to over UAH 13 billion, diesel cars — UAH 7.7 billion, and hybrids — UAH 5.5 billion. In total, customs revenues from car imports amounted to UAH 26.7 billion in five months.
Since the beginning of 2025, passenger cars have been imported from more than 50 countries, but the undisputed leaders are:
USA — 69,000 (38% of the total number imported);
Poland — 22,300 (12%);
Germany — 20,400 (11%).
A total of almost 111,700 cars were imported from these countries, accounting for over 60% of the total. The US dominates the gasoline car and electric vehicle segments. Germany and Poland are the leaders in diesel cars.
In January-March 2025, the volume of imports of passenger cars to Ukraine, including cargo and passenger vans and racing cars (UKT FEA code 8703), exceeded $1.131 billion in monetary terms, which is almost equal to the figure for the first quarter of last year ($1.134 billion).
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine, in March this year, passenger cars worth $411.23 million were imported to Ukraine, which is 16.6% more than in March 2024, while in January there was a 17.8% drop compared to January 2024, and in February the increase was 3% compared to February last year.
The three largest suppliers of cars to Ukraine in January-March this year were Germany, the United States and Japan, while last year it was the United States, Germany and China.
In particular, car deliveries from Germany increased by 35.7% to $228.94 million, and their share in the structure of car imports amounted to 20.24% compared to 14.88% a year earlier.
Ukraine imported $181.39 million worth of cars from the United States (down 14%). Japan, which last year was not among the top three countries with the largest car imports, supplied $108.35 million worth of cars over three months this year.
Notably, the top three did not include China, whose imports of passenger cars to Ukraine amounted to $138.18 million a year ago.
From other countries, all imports of passenger cars in the period amounted to $612.58 million, compared to $615.58 million in the first quarter of last year.
At the same time, in the first quarter of this year, Ukraine exported only $2.51 million worth of such vehicles, in particular to the UAE (51.6% of exports), the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while a year ago in the same period the country supplied $5.5 million worth of them to foreign markets, mainly to Canada, the UAE and the United States.
According to the State Customs Service, in the total structure of imports of goods to Ukraine in January-March, the share of passenger cars was 6.13%, in the structure of exports – 0.03%.
As reported, in 2024, Ukraine imported passenger cars worth $4.385 billion, 8% more than a year earlier, and exported $10.1 million (2.7 times less).
Ukraine’s imports of passenger cars, including cargo-passenger van cars and racing cars (UKT VED code 8703), in January-February 2025 in monetary terms decreased by 7.8% year-on-year to $719.92 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine, in February imports of passenger cars to Ukraine exceeded the February-2024 figure by 3% to $385.94 million, while in January there was a 17.8% drop compared to January-2023.
The top three largest suppliers of cars to Ukraine in January-February this year were Germany, the U.S. and Japan, while in the previous year it was the U.S., China and Germany.
In particular, the supply of cars from Germany increased by almost 40% – up to $152.15 million, and their share in the structure of car imports amounted to 21.13% against 13.94% a year earlier.
Cars worth $122.13 million (15% less) were imported from the USA to Ukraine. Japan, which last year was not among the top three countries with the largest car imports, this year imported $79 mln worth of cars in two months.
It is noteworthy that China, whose imports a year ago amounted to $114.88 mln (second place after the USA), has not yet entered the top three.
Overall, imports of passenger cars from other countries totaled $366.63 million during the period compared to $413.87 million in January-February last year.
At the same time, in January-February this year Ukraine exported such vehicles for only $1.9 million, in particular to the UAE (67% of exports), Czech Republic and Moldova, while a year earlier the country sold them to foreign markets for $3.8 million, mainly to Canada (47.7%), USA (26.8%) and Moldova.
According to the STS, in the total structure of imports of goods to Ukraine in January-February the share of passenger cars amounted to 6.37%, in the structure of exports – 0.03%.
As reported, in 2024 in Ukraine imported passenger cars for $4.385 billion – 8% more than a year earlier, exported $10.1 million (2.7 times less).
