November statistics on the market distribution by fuel/power type demonstrate clear polarization. Ukrainiansʼ preferences differ dramatically depending on where they buy a car: on the domestic market, ordered from abroad, or chosen at a car dealership. While domestic resales demonstrate the stability of tastes, the new car segment has undergone a real transformation.
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Domestic market
In the domestic market, changes are minimal. Ukrainians continue to choose time-tested solutions, focusing on practicality. The undisputed leader remains gasoline cars, which hold the largest market share. They are steadily followed by diesel cars, which even demonstrated a symbolic increase in presence. The top three are cars with LPG. For many, this is still an alternative way to reduce fuel costs.
Interestingly, the share of electric cars has even decreased somewhat here. This is easily explained: the attention of buyers of "green" cars has shifted to imports and new cars, where the choice is much wider and financial incentives are now more significant.
Import of used
In the segment of "freshly driven" cars, the structure is starting to change. Although gasoline cars still hold the lead, their share is noticeably decreasing. The same applies to diesel, whose popularity in imports is gradually decreasing.
The main driver of change has been electric vehicles. Their share in imports has increased significantly. In fact, every third used car that entered Ukraine in November was electric. This is a direct result of the pragmatic desire to take advantage of tax breaks before the new year.
New passenger car segment
The most dynamic changes occurred in the new segment. A historic moment was recorded here: electric cars not only took first place, but did so by a clear margin. According to the results of November, electric cars took the largest share of the market, pushing the long-standing leader — gasoline cars — to second place.
Interestingly, this growth was driven in part by hybrids. This segment, which usually felt confident, lost ground significantly in November. It seems that buyers, choosing between a compromise hybrid and a fully electric car (which still had a discount at the time), massively chose the latter. The share of diesel among new cars also continues to decline, turning into a niche offer.
Comment by Ostap Novytsky, expert at the Institute for Car Market Research:
“The November market snapshot perfectly illustrates how tax expectations shape demand. We see two different approaches. The domestic market lives by inertia: here people buy what is understandable, easy to maintain and has a developed infrastructure — that is, gasoline, diesel and gas. In contrast, the new car market reacted to the prospect of VAT refunds instantly. The fact that electric cars have taken over 40% of the new car market, significantly ahead of gasoline and hybrids — is an anomaly caused by the calendar. Buyers who hesitated made a choice in favor of “clean electricity” precisely because of the desire to fix a favorable price. This is a situational peak, and in January we will probably see a market correction when the conditions for all types of engines partially level out.”
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