Dump trucks in Ukraine: Why did «protecting the market from old junk» lead to even more junk?
Analysts from the Institute for Automotive Market Research have drawn attention to the dump truck segment. Although it is not the most popular on the market, it is of great importance for the economy: these vehicles work every day on construction sites, in quarries, in road services, and in municipal services.
The average monthly market volume is about 370 vehicles, of which over 85% are used. The demand for new dump trucks is significantly lower, which forms a specific structure of this segment.
The situation on the dump truck market clearly demonstrates the problem — the average age of vehicles in the segment is 30 years. Based on the principle of "what we sell, we drive", it turns out that dump trucks 40...50 years old, or even more, are still in operation on the roads. This means that mainly Soviet KamAZs and ZiLs are still in operation, which were the same age as the construction of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Kyiv metro, or bypass roads in the 1980s. The equipment that once transported concrete and crushed stone on large-scale state projects is now still used on modern construction sites — although it has long exhausted its resource and does not meet modern safety and environmental requirements.
Here are the brands of used dump trucks that most often became the subjects of purchase and sale agreements and first registrations (imports are negligible — only 0.6%, that is, 1...3 cars with mileage are imported per month) in 2025, from January to August inclusive:
Next, about the models that are grouped for ease of viewing (for example, the ZiL 130 family includes variants such as ZiL-MMZ 555, ZiL-MMZ 4502/4505 and similar. The GAZ 53 family also includes GAZ-SAZ 3507/08/09 products and similar ones).
These data clearly show that cars from well-known European manufacturers make up a small share among the mass of cars from the Soviet auto industry.
As for new dump trucks, as already mentioned, the share of such trucks on the market is small, about 15%, and among them there are often not only classic dump trucks, but also special equipment based on them. However, since the state registers indicate the type of machine as a dump truck, they are included in this list. Although in reality they may be snowplows, sand spreaders or similar specialized machines converted for municipal needs. Here is a list of brands for the same period:
Next is a list of models, not all of which are immediately understandable to a wide audience, because they belong to those converted by Ukrainian enterprises:
So why is this segment so slow to fill with new cars? There are several problems here: the purchasing power of citizens and companies, high lending rates (compared to Europe), and expensive mandatory insurance if you use financing.
Add to this the low tariffs for the transportation of bulk cargo, which are set by entrepreneurs who operate the aforementioned old, Soviet-style dump trucks. It will simply be unprofitable to compete with them with a new machine. Therefore, new dump trucks are purchased mainly by powerful construction companies for their own use, without the purpose of providing services to third-party customers. Or state or municipal enterprises that focus on products from local factories. The price range for new dump trucks in Ukraine starts at approximately $60,000 for Chinese, not very common options, then extends to $120,000 for cars from European manufacturers, and can reach $200,000 for “heavy” models of time-tested German brand lines.
In the used segment, where only a few vehicles arrive per month, the main factor holding back imports is tax legislation. Excise duty rates on imported trucks with mileage (for example, for a group of vehicles with a gross weight of 5-20 tons) increase rapidly after they reach the age of 5-8 years, from 0.026 euros per 1 cm3 of engine, to 1.04 and 1.26 euros, depending on the age. In practice, this means that if you import an average dump truck with a 10-liter engine, at such rates you will have to pay 260 euros in excise duty for a vehicle under 5 years old, and 10,400 euros if the dump truck is 5 to 8 years old, and 13,000 euros if it is 8 years old or older. Letʼs not forget about the 10% customs duty and 20% VAT. At the same time, the vehicle must meet the Euro-5 eco-standard, otherwise its first registration is impossible.
As a result, the market is stuck in the "old dump truck trap": most carriers continue to repair what they have, because it is practically impossible to legally import modern vehicles at adequate prices. Given the need for maneuverability and the average volume (tonnage) of transportation orders, the tractor plus semi-trailer-dump truck options will not be suitable for everyone.
And this situation can last for a very long time — at least until the excise tax rates are revised, because otherwise the average (and actual) age will become higher and higher, and the dump trucks themselves will look more and more like the ones we see in National Geographic TV programs when they talk about India, Pakistan, or some African countries.
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