Ukraine imported approximately 4,200 passenger cars from China – mostly electric – during the first quarter of 2024, a 75 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
The Ukrainian Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association (UkrAutoprom) reported on Telegram, that close to 3,000 of those imported were new cars, an increase of 114 percent and 18 percent of all new passenger cars imported.
1,200 used cars were imported from China, an increase of 21 percent compared to the first quarter of last year, a figure of 2 percent of all newly registered used cars.
UkrAutoprom said an “absolute majority” of those imported – 85 percent – were electric cars. It provided a list of the most popular models being imported from China, which included both international brands manufactured in China and brands of Chinese origin.
New cars from China imported to Ukraine, ranked by import numbers in the first quarter of 2024:
- Volkswagen iD.4 (German) – 750 units
- Honda eNS1 (Japanese) – 255 units
- BYD Song Plus (Chinese) – 227 units
- Nissan Ariya (Japanese) -– 189 units
- Geely Atlas Pro (Chinese) – 164 units
Used cars from China imported to Ukraine, ranked by import numbers in the first quarter of 2024:
- Volkswagen iD.4 (German) – 350 units
- Nissan Ariya (Japanese) – 103 units
- Honda eNS1 (Japanese) – 99 units
- Toyota bZ4X (Japanese) – 70 units
- Volkswagen iD.6 (German) – 48 units
All of the foreign manufacturers mentioned have either divisions or joint ventures in China.
Previous reports have shown that even before Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion Chinese car imports to Ukraine had grown in recent years likely due to their lower prices compared to the variants sold in Europe. The Institute of Car Market Research reported in October that the majority of recent imports from China were “gray imports,” i.e. not supplied by official dealerships.
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In Russia, Chinese cars comprised 92 percent of imports during the first eight months of 2023, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda. In November 2023, Kyiv Post reported that Russian troops had deployed several types of Chinese-made all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in Ukraine, supplied by Chinese civilian manufacturers.
Though officially, Beijing has denied providing support to Moscow for its war in Ukraine, it has maintained a close partnership with the Kremlin and often boasted of “strategic cooperation” between the two.
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Comments (2)
In the UK I keep hearing warnings about these Chinese electric vehicles. I own a French EV myself. I would not buy the Chinese alternative.
We had to remove Chinese hardware from our 5G cell network because it represented a major security risk. We have been told how China can disable our Chinese made EV's with an OTA update to cripple our society and force compliance.
China has sanctioned some of our most respected politicians for speaking out against them. The CCP can demand any Chinese company obeys a directive from the party, even social media giants like Tik Tok are not safe. Members of parliament had to delete their accounts after the data vulnerabilites were exposed.
The Chinese state can demand insidious software or hardware is embedded in products sold to the west. In short, it's perfectly safe to buy a cheap shower curtain from China on Amazon, but anything with microchips in it is another story.
I hope Ukraine stops buying Chinese EV's, one day you want to go somewhere and the car say 'No'.
It's a shame that these purchases are profiting China. A country whose supposed "Neutrality" extends this war to russia's advantage. China even abstained in UN votes to condemn russia for its illegal and murderous invasion.
On the other side, the average salary in Ukraine was only $7500 USD last year, and the Russian caused devastation there is enormous. Most western aid is towards weaponry or humanitarian. I'm not aware of any replacement car aid. How does a resident there cope then? However possible. Reduces costs.
The average vehicle cost in the USA is $45k. The average Chinese car if allowed to be imported in the USA in a compliant state could be sold for $18k. The disparity must be even greater in Ukraine given additional delivery logistics. Ukrainian's make the decision they need to replace the cars they need.
Prewar the leading sales in Ukraine were Japanese, French, German and US cars. Car dealers make the most money over a client relationship in service and parts. Cutting car sales costs in Ukraine (actually everywhere) to lock in more profitable future service / parts revenue seems a pragmatic decision.
I wonder what aid allied car manufacturers provide Ukraine even if for future selfish reasons