The average age of cars is one of the best indicators of the state of a country’s car fleet. The older vehicles are registered, the more it indicates limited access to more modern, safer, and more fuel-efficient models. In this review, we compared the average age of vehicles changing ownership within Ukraine with those imported from abroad with mileage.
Passenger cars on the domestic market have an average age of about 16 years, while used imported cars are almost half that age, with an average of 9.6 years.
There is a similar gap in the truck segment: domestic sales are mainly vehicles aged 18.5–19 years, while imports are much younger — an average of 7.9 years.
Buses resold in Ukraine have an average age of over 20 years, while imported used ones are 13–14 years old.
At the same time, it is worth mentioning the import rules — the age limits under which the excise tax on buses and trucks becomes significantly higher after they exceed the age of 5 or 8 years, as well as a clear restriction on environmental standards at the Euro-5 level.
Motorcycles are a different story. Here the situation contrasts with other segments: the average age of imported used motorcycles is even higher than that of those resold in Ukraine (14 versus 11.5 years). The reason lies in the structure of demand. More than half of all motorcycles are imported new, while the share of used imports is only about 10%.
At the same time, they usually import not budget bikes, but recognizable classics or powerful models, which in new condition have a high cost. The list of the most popular ones includes Honda CB, Kawasaki NINJA, Honda CBR, Yamaha YZF, Suzuki GSX, and the like. This segment is actually bifurcated: mass import of new ones for everyday use and import of used ones as a way to get a vehicle with character, which you can’t always find on the domestic market.
Conclusion: Imports play a key role in rejuvenating the Ukrainian car fleet, especially in the passenger car, truck and bus segments. At the same time, the motorcycle market has its own specifics, where new sales play a larger role, and used models from abroad occupy only a narrow specific segment.
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