Gasoline, diesel, or electric? How has the structure of the Ukrainian car market changed by fuel?

Fuel (or type of power plant) is one of the key criteria for choosing a car, which directly affects operating costs. Analysts of the Institute for Car Market Research decided to look at how the structure of the Ukrainian car market has changed by fuel type: they analyzed the first registrations of new cars, as well as the total segment of used cars (imports + domestic resales) for January-April 2025 and compared them with the same period in 2024.

For objectivity of comparison, not only absolute indicators were calculated, but also the shares of each type of fuel in the corresponding segment, as well as the dynamics in percentage points (the difference between the shares of 2025 and 2024).

Used cars: moderate fluctuations

In the used car segment, the preferences of Ukrainian drivers remain relatively stable. Gasoline cars remain the most popular (43.88%), although their share increased by only 0.92 pp. Diesel is gradually losing ground (-2.13 pp), although it retains a significant share — 28.43%.

Interestingly, electric cars are gradually gaining ground — their share increased by 2.54 percentage points, to 7.09%. This indicates a gradual filling of the fleet, and accordingly, the market for used cars.

Passenger cars with LPG equipment (LPG) continue to lose relevance, while hybrids continue to occupy a small niche (2.46%), but show slight growth.

In general, the structure of the used car market is changing slowly — the inertia effect is triggered, since in the secondary market, cars that are already available are purchased, here consumers do not form demand "from scratch".

New cars: hybrids are breaking through, diesel is giving up

In the new car segment, the changes are much more noticeable. The largest growth was recorded in hybrids, which doubled their share over the year — from 14.87% to 27.27% (+12.40 pp). Thus, hybrids actually came in second place, second only to gasoline cars.

At the same time, diesel lost more than 6 percentage points, falling to 20.44%, and gasoline — by more than 5 percentage points (to 37.55%). This dynamics indicates a gradual shift of new car buyers away from traditional types of fuel.

Electric vehicles, although remaining stable, have a slight decrease in share (-0.75 pp). In contrast, cars with LPG have almost disappeared from the new car segment — only 0.17% in 2025, compared to 0.42% last year.

Conclusions

The Ukrainian automotive market is increasingly divided into two worlds. In the used car segment, diesel and gasoline still dominate, with a slow growth of electric and hybrid cars. On the other hand, among new cars, there is already a noticeable shift towards alternative fuels — especially hybrids, which have become a kind of compromise between old habits and new technologies.

These trends indicate not only a change in the market, but also a changed consumer mindset — what to buy, how to refuel, and what is more appropriate to own tomorrow.

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