Electric cars are also becoming increasingly popular in war-torn Ukraine: in September alone, there were around 8,500 new registrations and registrations of imported used electric cars. Many of the vehicles are grey imports from China. Volkswagen’s ID. UNYX, which is only available on the Chinese market, is currently particularly popular.
Obtaining reliable figures on the Ukrainian car market is somewhat tricky. On the one hand, there are relatively inaccurate overviews of the overall market for new registrations available online, but on the other hand, there are also statistics specific to electric cars, and only the latter take into account so-called imported electric vehicles with mileage. This vehicle category currently plays a particularly important role in the country, but is not taken into account in new registrations.
So let’s break it down: according to the Ukrainian Automobile Association UkrAutoprom, around 6,800 new cars across all drive types were sold in the country in September 2025, which is 20 per cent more than a year ago. Of these, 2,261 vehicles were fully electric, or around one third.
According to analysts at the Ukrainian Institute for Automotive Market Research, however, new electric cars account for only a small proportion of electric cars registered in Ukraine for the first time. Imported electric cars with mileage played an even greater role as used electric cars from abroad. Most of these are likely to come directly from China. These could possibly include cars with one-day registrations, but there is no precise information on this. In any case, the Institute for Automotive Market Research reports that 6,473 such electric cars have been imported into Ukraine and registered there, which is almost three times as many as new electric cars and almost as many as new cars of all drive types.
In contrast, the market researcher gives a slightly lower figure for new registrations of electric cars than UkrAutoprom, namely 2,088 units. In addition, the market researcher also mentions 3,552 used electric cars that have changed hands within Ukraine. This brings the Institute for Automotive Market Research’s total for September to 12,113 electric car purchases – including new cars, imported used cars and domestic used cars. Some media outlets reported 12,113 new electric cars, but this is incorrect.
It is also interesting to look at the most popular manufacturers and models – although some caution is advised here, as the figures from Germany cannot be verified definitively. According to these figures, Chinese electric car and plug-in hybrid manufacturer BYD was the most popular new car brand across all drive types in September, with 989 new registrations (438 per cent more than in September 2024), followed by Toyota and VW in second and third place. Another Chinese electric car brand, Zeekr, also made it into the top 10.
From a German perspective, however, it is even more exciting that VW’s ID. UNYX ranks first in new registrations across all drive types. According to figures from UkrAutoprom, there were an impressive 432 new registrations of the model in September 2024. However, this model is not intended for the European market, but for the Chinese market. The electric SUV coupé is essentially a Cupra Tavascan with a VW logo for China. As such, these are likely not official imports from the Chinese factory in Anhui (where the Tavascan is also built), but rather grey imports.
Keyword: imports from China. The fact that this phenomenon is very widespread in Ukraine and that there are dealers specialising in it is also evident from the fact that some charging providers in Ukraine now also offer fast charging stations with the Chinese GB/T standard. For example, Okko, the country’s largest petrol station chain, offers corresponding charging stations at around 50 locations, according to an overview map. Alternatively, suitable adapters are also available for purchase, and some models can even be converted to European charging standards.
eauto.org.ua, ukrautoprom.com.ua (both in Ukrainian), dev.ua
This article was first published by Florian Treiß for electrive’s German edition.
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