Car sales between Russia and Ukraine compared
- Automobile sales in Russia and Ukraine represented 1.75 million units (PC+LUV) in 2021, including 1.65 million for Russia and 100,000 for Ukraine. While Ukraine had 44 million inhabitants on December 31, 2021 and Russia 144 million inhabitants (i.e. approximately three times fewer Ukrainians than Russians), the automotive market is 16 times smaller than the Russian automotive market in 2021.
- This distortion is mainly due to the fact that GDP per capita is three times lower in Ukraine than in Russia. The motorization rate is thus 200 per 1,000 inhabitants in Ukraine against 300 per 1,000 inhabitants in Russia, i.e. 30% lower.
- This distortion also comes from the fact that Ukraine has been undergoing a latent civil war since 2014, in particular with the pro-Russian eastern provinces. A country in civil war, even latent, does not encourage the purchase of new cars. Finally, Ukraine has almost no vehicle assembly plants left, unlike Russia, which has a relatively powerful automotive industry, albeit made up mostly of locally established foreign brands.
- Ukraine therefore has to import all its new cars from abroad, which costs more for the customer than if the country had its own assembly plants. Ukraine mainly imports vehicles from four countries which account for almost half of its imports: Japan, Czech Republic, Germany and Great Britain.
- The current war in Ukraine should put a (temporary) halt to automobile sales in the country.
Contact us: info@inovev.com