Ukraine Beats Other European Countries in 2011 Car Sales Upsurge

KYIV, Ukraine--January 18, 2012:

Ukrainian automobile market grew 30.8 percent in 2011, reported Delo.ua. Such growth offers a lot of potential, especially taking into account the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) reported that most of the significant European passenger car markets declined in 2011. The demand for new cars in Europe has been decreasing during the last four years. Last year the average sales decline in the EU countries constituted 1.7 percent.

Ukrainian automobile sales within the last two years had been showing the dynamics of the pre-crisis period, noted the Ukrainian association of automobile producers UkrAvtoprom. It also identified that made-in-Ukraine cars occupy a 28 percent niche on the domestic market.. Auto sales in Ukraine experienced a particular boost in December 2011, according to AUTO-Consulting. The auto dealers in Ukraine sold 40 percent more cars in 2011 than they did in 2010.

In 2011 the demand for new cars grew only in Germany by 8.8 percent, whereas the French market sales fell by 2.1 percent, British - by 4.4. Italy and Spain experienced major drop of their automobile sales markets with the respective decrease of 10.9 and 17.7 percent.

For the next year experts predict further growth for Ukrainian automobile market. While Ernst & Young released a forecast for weak European car market dynamics in 2012, Art-Capital suggested Ukrainian auto market would grow 20 percent in the current year. Experts listed the option of taking loan to buy a car as one of the reasons for better car sales in Ukraine. In the beginning of 2011 only 13 percent of car sales involved bank loans, while by autumn the number grew to 20 percent. But the main reason for sales upsurge was the increase of income of Ukrainians, reported Art-Capital.

In addition to the sales growth due to enhanced purchasing power, the news that Ukraine's GDP growth in 2011 reached 5.2 percent appeared in the media. The Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov provided this information in his statement on January 17, 2012, summarizing last year's economic performance of Ukraine. This indicator is higher than the 2011 prognosis by the National Bank of Ukraine - 5 percent, and the anticipated growth of 4.5 percent according to the state budget.