Specialists of the information and analytical group AUTO-Consulting conducted a large-scale study, examining data on new car sales in Ukraine for the entire past century.
It is believed that the very first car appeared in Ukraine in Odessa at the beginning of the 20th century. However, there are other versions according to which the first cars could be seen in Kyiv or Lviv. But analysts managed to find nationwide statistics on vehicle registration only starting from 1933.
As found out in AUTO-Consulting, in the 30s the volume of the new passenger car market in Ukraine fluctuated between 3.5-5.4 thousand units annually. In the 40s, due to military operations, the indicators fell to minimum values, and only in 1949 there was some revival — the market reached 8.5 thousand cars. Subsequently, until the end of the century, almost continuous growth was observed.
The heyday of the Ukrainian car market during the times of the Ukrainian SSR was the 80s, when factories across the country operated at full capacity. The peak year was 1984: then 216 thousand brand new cars were sold to residents of Ukraine.
According to preliminary forecasts, in 2015 the sales volume will amount to only 46.5 thousand new cars. This roughly corresponds to the level of 1994 (then 51.3 thousand were sold), but in history one can find a more accurate parallel — 1969, when 44 thousand fresh cars were also sold in Ukraine.
In other words, in 2015 the Ukrainian car market in terms of sales volumes returned 46 years back. It is noteworthy that in those times a car was perceived as a luxury item. The most real luxury! Although today for many Ukrainians a car is also no longer just a means of transportation…
