In August 2026, Ukrainians purchased 9,074 electric passenger cars (first registrations of new vehicles, imported used vehicles, and domestic resale vehicles), which is 7.8%, or 656 vehicles, more than in July of this year, but 20.7% less than in August of last year, according to the Institute for Automotive Research (IAR).
"The largest contribution to the monthly growth was made by used car imports: they increased by 434 electric vehicles and accounted for 66.2% of the net market growth. Domestic resales remained the largest segment with a 54.6% share, while new electric vehicles accounted for 5.6% of the volume," according to a report on the IAR website.
The segment of imported used cars increased by 13.7% compared to July 2026, to 3,613 units, which, however, is 38.9% lower than in August 2025.
At the same time, domestic resales in August increased by 2.3% month-on-month and 38.2% year-on-year to 4,957 units, while the new electric vehicle segment increased by 27.9% month-on-month but declined by 74.1% year-on-year to 504 units.
The IAR notes that December 2025 stands out in the 13-month trend, when 35,167 light-duty electric vehicles were purchased in Ukraine [before the introduction of VAT on electric vehicles]. After a sharp decline in January, monthly sales returned to the range of 8,000-10,000 vehicles.
Tesla led the top three most popular electric vehicle brands in August with 2,342 units and a market share of 25.8%. Its sales volume remained virtually unchanged compared to July, but decreased by 14.9% compared to August last year.
Nissan took second place (1,225,000 units), and Volkswagen came in third (745 units).
"These three brands accounted for 47.5% of August's volume, while the top ten accounted for 81.5%. Zeekr entered the top ten with 247 vehicles, replacing BMW in the July top ten," the experts note.
Meanwhile, the Nissan Leaf topped the overall model rankings with 1,087,000 units, up 13.6% from July.
The Tesla Model 3 gained 5% to take second place with 1,044,000 units, while the Tesla Model Y saw its volume decline by 2.7% to third with 910 units. At the same time, the Nissan Leaf led the domestic resale segment (632 units), while in the used car import segment, the Tesla Model Y was first (498 units), and among new electric cars, the BYD Sea Lion 06 (102 units).
In terms of "age," 5,289 vehicles, or 58.3% of the August volume, were up to five years old - compared to 58.6% in July and 67.3% a year ago.
The share of vehicles older than 11 years, on the contrary, increased - to 13.2% from 7.5% a year ago.
Vehicles up to two years old amounted to 1,878 units, or 20.7%; 3-5 years old - 3,411 thousand, or 37.6%; 6-10 years - 2,586, or 28.5%; 11 years and older – 1,199,000, or 13.2%.
Experts note that in August, electric vehicles accounted for 9.3% of all light vehicles purchased or first registered in the three corresponding segments (new, imported used, and domestic) – up from 8.3% in July and 10.8% a year ago. BEVs retained their largest share among imported used vehicles – 17.0%.
"Thus, the August result signifies a revival in the turnover of used electric vehicles domestically and a partial resumption of their imports, but (this) is not yet a return to last year's scale and pace of market renewal," the IAR concludes.
