Carriers mostly buy used vehicles and therefore new cars are not sold in Ukraine - expert

Most carriers buy used vehicles, which leads to the fact that new cars are practically not sold.

Viktor Medvid, director of the William Invest Expert consulting company, told this in a commentary to GolosUA.

"There are several reasons why car production has declined by almost 50%. The first reason is that the cars cannot compete with those imported from abroad, in particular used cars. The second reason is the lack of effective demand. The issue is that money is very expensive in Ukraine and it is difficult to take out a loan to purchase equipment and upgrade it. Therefore, if we look at the structure, we see a decline not only in passenger cars, but also in trucks, etc. This means that companies are not updating their vehicles or reducing the amount of upgrades, and therefore postponing purchases due to lack of funds. That is why production is falling," the expert said.

According to Mr. Medved, foreign countries stimulate production by creating leasing programs and preferential lending at minimal interest rates.

"As for the forecasts, it directly depends on two factors. First. This is our customs policy, which is protectionist in terms of the admission of other cars. And the second factor is people's access to funds for purchases. Today, banks have very strict requirements for obtaining loans to upgrade equipment. And, accordingly, the equipment is quite expensive, which makes it impossible to update it systematically. That is why most carriers buy used vehicles, which leads to the fact that new cars are hardly ever bought," he said.

In November of this year, the production of vehicles in Ukraine decreased by 49% to 520 units compared to the same period last year. This was reported by the press service of the Ukravtoprom association the day before.