Ukrainian Importation of Chinese Cars Rises by 75% From Same Period Last Year

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.