The volume of motor vehicle imports in December, with a small "minus" sign, actually repeated the results of November — it refers to the number of used passenger cars that passed customs clearance for their release into free circulation. Customs cleared 23,600 used cars, against 23,700 in November. For comparison, 25,200 declarations were issued in September, 23,800 in August.
The share of cars from the USA increased after a long decline
In December 2023, 23,600 used cars with mileage passed customs clearance. Most came from the countries of the European Union — 12.4 thousand, or 52.6%. From American countries , 8,400 cars were submitted for customs clearance, which is 35.7% — more than a third of all new arrivals. Passenger cars with mileage arrived in much smaller quantities from Norway (899 units, 3.8%), South Korea (569 units, 3%) and Switzerland (484 units, 2%). The total share (rounded) from other directions was about 3%.
It is worth noting that the share of cars from the USA gradually decreased, reaching a minimum in November ( 30.4% ). Now it has grown to 35.7%, although this is still not the maximum value for last year, which was recorded in August — 36.6%. It should be taken into account that unlike the European direction, where it can be said that the purchase of cars takes place almost in real time, cars from the USA travel a long and long way until they reach Ukraine — sometimes up to several months. All the cars that arrived in December were bought at auctions there even before the Polish-Ukrainian border blockade began, and they still had to be imported one way or another (even with a long wait in the queues "in front of the barrier"). So now we see a conditional picture of two or three months ago, regarding the activity of Ukrainian dealers at American auctions.
If we consider the trends of buying used cars from abroad in terms of individual countries and not united regions, the first place according to the statistical customs results of December is occupied by the United States of America with a share of 35% and 8.3 thousand passenger cars. The flow of cars from Germany decreased somewhat — 3.8 thousand used cars arrived from there, which is less than a month earlier (4.5 thousand), while the country with the largest car market in Europe continues to occupy second place in this ranking, with with a share of 15.9%. 3 thousand cars arrived from Poland, and their share was 12.7%.
It should be added here that Poland and Lithuania often play the role of "transit countries", many cars are not bought there, but only export documents are drawn up, so the share of cars actually purchased there may be smaller.
- USA — 8,287 pcs.
- Germany — 3,763 pcs.
- Poland — 2,999 pcs.
- Slovakia — 1,215 pcs.
- Norway — 899 pcs.
- The Netherlands — 764 units.
- Czech Republic — 609 pcs.
- France — 585 pcs.
- Lithuania — 577 pcs.
- South Korea — 569 pcs.
- Switzerland — 484 pcs.
- China — 412 pcs.
- Belgium — 347 pcs.
- Estonia — 283 units.
- Hungary — 278 pcs.
- Sweden — 224 pcs.
- Georgia — 196 pcs.
- Denmark — 182 pcs.
- Canada — 162 pcs.
- Great Britain — 156 pcs.
How much money did you spend on used cars from abroad?
In December 2023, Ukrainians purchased all cars abroad with a total customs value of 215.9 million US dollars.
The most money was spent on the purchase of cars from the USA (over $80.6 million ), which is 37.5% of all money spent abroad on the purchase of used cars. In second place, with a fairly noticeable gap, is Poland, whose "car commissions" and private sellers left $26.5 million. Third place in Germany, with a "cheque" for $23.1 million. Next is China, with a result of $19.3 million. Slovakia, with a figure of $11.3 million, closes the top five leaders in terms of the "total check".
- USA — $80.6 million
- Poland — $26.5 million
- Germany — $23.1 million
- China — $19.3 million
- Slovakia — $11.3 million
- Norway — $10.3 million
- The Netherlands — $5.6 million
- Czech Republic — $5.2 million
- South Korea — $5.1 million
- France — $5.0 million
- Hungary — $3.9 million
- Lithuania — $3.7 million
- Switzerland — $2.1 million
- Belgium — $1.9 million
- Canada — $1.7 million
- Estonia — $1.5 million
- Sweden — $1.2 million
- Georgia — $1.1 million
- Denmark — $1.0 million
- Italy — $0.8 million
It is worth noting that the real value of cars may differ — both higher and lower, since the concept of "customs value" and the real price of a car are somewhat different concepts. Due to the imperfection of the customs system, more cheap cars fall into the statistical categories, although in reality their number is smaller — because their real value may be higher.
How much do used cars from abroad cost?
The main trend of Ukrainian imports remains unchanged: affordable cars worth $1-2 thousand abroad have the greatest demand among Ukrainians. December was no exception, during which there were 9.9% of the total number of imported goods. In general, 72.4% of all cars imported last month cost less than $10,000.
Due to the low purchasing power and difficult economic situation in Ukraine, the greatest demand for imported cars is observed in the budget segment. Since high customs fees make importing a large part of used cars in the affordable price category economically unprofitable, buyers often refuse to buy a used car from abroad and prefer cars in the domestic market. Currently, the distribution of market shares for first registrations and sales transactions within the country looks like 24% to 76%.
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