In 2025, the Ukrainian automotive market saw a significant increase in sales of new and “freshly imported” passenger cars, as well as record-breaking rates of electric vehicle purchases. According to the analysis by the Institute for Automotive Market Research, the demand for electric transport in Ukraine reached the highest levels recorded in all years of observation.
This is reported by Finway
Record Sales of Electric Vehicles and Changes in the Passenger Car Market
In 2025, Ukrainians purchased over 100,000 electric vehicles for the first time in a year. December was particularly notable, with 31,000 electric cars arriving in the country – more than the total for the entire period from 2012 to 2022 combined. This result indicates a rapid increase in interest in eco-friendly transport and the renewal of the vehicle fleet.
Among passenger cars, there has been an increase in sales of new vehicles and imports, while the number of transactions in the domestic market has slightly decreased. At the same time, due to the heightened demand for electric vehicles, there has been a balancing between different market sub-segments.
Dynamics in the Commercial Transport Segments
In contrast to passenger cars, the commercial transport segments, particularly trucks (with a gross weight over 3500 kg, including tractor units) and LCVs (vans and minibuses), demonstrated a decline in activity. The analysis notes that sales of commercial vehicles decreased across all sub-segments: sales of new vehicles fell by 23%, imports of “freshly imported” vehicles decreased by 31%, and the number of transactions in the secondary market dropped by 42% compared to 2024.
“This is a bad sign, indicating a decrease in interest from carriers in this type of transport, which arises from a reduction in transportation order volumes, caused by the overall slowdown of the economy in the country.”
In the LCV segment, interest in new vehicles declined by 10%, while imports of used vehicles increased by 18%. The volume of transactions in the domestic market decreased by 52%.
Regarding buses, the demand for new vehicles among carriers increased by 15%, imports of used buses rose by 32%, however, domestic resales fell by 36%. The total volume of bus trading also showed a decline, despite the overall trend towards fleet renewal.