The auto industry in Ukraine has a future, the state will support its development, in particular, in the near future it plans to launch a program to subsidize interest rates on car loans for the population to purchase cars assembled in the country, Deputy Head of the President's Office Rostyslav Shurma has said.

"What exactly do we plan to do as a government to motivate and develop the automotive industry in the country... stimulate and purposefully increase the demand for cars specially assembled in Ukraine," he said, speaking online at Manufacturing day Ukraine, which was held on Thursday in the Solomonovo industrial park in Zakarpattia.

Shurma explained that interest rates are quite high in Ukraine, which makes loans for the population quite expensive. "Therefore, in the near future we will launch a program to subsidize interest rates, which will allow citizens to receive car loans at preferential interest rates," he indicated.

The second step the President's Office deputy head called the consolidation of procurement by government agencies and the purchase of products from local manufacturers in order to motivate them and increase production. Shurma recalled that the state is currently a major player in the economy and, according to his estimates, forms up to 50% of the total demand in the country.

He called the third step the creation of a tax regime for the domestic manufacturer of electric vehicles, with which he could compete with their imports, which are practically exempt from paying fees, VAT, excise taxes and duties.

In general, Shurma noted that Ukraine's interest in the development of the automotive industry is due to the fact that the auto industry is one of the main elements of the economy, creating jobs, taxes, contribution to GDP, to the balance of payments, in which now the import of cars may be one of largest articles.

According to the President's Office deputy head, the automobile industry in Ukraine has a future, since the country has a fairly capacious domestic market. "In the worst periods, it drops to 200,000 cars. In the best periods, it was about 600,000 cars a year, and all this without the proper financial instruments that allow people to get competitive credit at competitive rates," Shurma described it.

He added that Ukraine also has all the necessary components for production and assembly of cars in the country, and there are already many component manufacturers that supply parts and components to all the largest automobile corporations in the world.

According to the President's Office deputy head, Ukraine also has qualified people who are trained and have an engineering education.