In November 2023, electric cars took a record share of the Ukrainian car market - 19.6%. Before that, the record was at the level of 18%. This means that cars with an electric engine continue to spread in Ukraine, and in November they were preferred by every fifth buyer of new cars.
In November of this year, electric cars already exceeded the sales figures of cars with diesel engines (18.8%) on the Ukrainian market, although a year ago diesel still held more than 20% of sales.
On January 1, 2020, a law came into force in Ukraine, which introduces green number plates for electric cars, and also regulates the movement, parking and charging of electric cars by amending the Road Traffic Rules and State Building Regulations.
For stopping or parking a car in a place for electric cars, as well as for creating obstacles for drivers of electric cars in stopping or parking, a fine of 20 to 30 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens is provided, and parking inspectors are given the right to detain the violator's car, in particular with the help of a tow truck.
Every electric car on the road is minus one car with an internal combustion engine, i.e. minus one source of real air pollution, which we all already breathe, not cars, - comments Oleksiy Ryabchyn, Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine. - As of today, the electric vehicle community has received additional legal tools to protect their rights and to increase the number of eco-cars in Ukraine."
Bills No. 8159 and 8160 are currently in the Verkhovna Rada, which provide for and offer various benefits to stimulate sales and production of electric vehicles in Ukraine. This is, in particular, the right to include the funds spent on the purchase of an electric car as a tax deduction. Including credit, but without interest, it is proposed to give until 2029. Temporary (until 2029) exemption from payment of excise duty upon importation of electric vehicles. Temporary (until 2029) exemption from payment of VAT when importing into Ukraine components for the production of electric vehicles. Temporary (until 2029) exemption from payment to the pension fund from 3% to 5% of the cost of the car upon first registration of an electric vehicle. It is also proposed that paid parking lots have 5% of spaces equipped with charging devices for electric vehicles.
According to the IEA-International Energy Agency, global sales of electric vehicles currently account for about 13% of all car sales and are likely to grow to 50% of the market by the end of 2030. This is thanks to a combination of increasingly stringent efficiency standards and subsidies introduced by various governments around the world since the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures.
While the numbers are already large, the IEA said sales of electric vehicles need to be even higher, around 70% of the market by 2030, to meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming.
Since 2020, Ukrainians have inquired about electric cars on the Internet 5.85 million times, in 2021 — 7.32 million times (+25.3%).And already in the first half of 2022 (only from January to June inclusive), they searched for electric cars more than 3.1 million times. The dynamics of the growth of the interest of Ukrainians increased significantly in 2023 as well.
In general, experts are sure that the mass transition to electric cars, and not only in Ukraine, is due to the following factors:
- further increase in the price of fuel;
- development of infrastructure of charging stations;
- lowering the price of electric cars and expanding their range on the market;
- increase in purchasing power of citizens and availability of financing programs;
- improving the technical characteristics of a battery-powered car, reducing the charging time and increasing the battery capacity:
- mass transition of car concerns to the production of electric cars only.
