Demand for new buses in Ukraine more than doubles in Jan – Ukrautoprom

KYIV. Feb 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Primary registrations of new buses (including minibuses) in Ukraine in January increased by 2.1 times, or by 124 units compared to pre-war January 2022, to 239 units, and also by 36.6% more than in December last year, according to the statistics of the Ukrautoprom association.

According to the statistics released on the Association’s Telegram channel on Tuesday, Ukrainian buses Etalon, produced by the eponymous corporation, became the leader in this segment, with an increase in registrations of up to 64 units compared to 12 units in January 2022 and seven units in December of the same year.

The second place belongs to Citroen buses, which registered 52 units in January against one in January and 39 units in December last year.

The third line is taken by the leader of December 2022, Ataman buses manufactured by JSC Cherkasy Bus – their registrations amounted to 50 units versus 15 units in January 2022 and 84 units in December.

The fourth line in the ranking was also occupied by Ukrainian ZAZ buses, of which 20 units were registered – almost twice as many as in January 2022. The fifth position is taken by the leader of last year’s January, Volkswagen, with a drop in registrations by 14%, to 18 units.

Ford increased the registration of buses in January (up to 14 units from five a year earlier) and Turkish Otokar (up to 11 units versus four in January 2022). The top ten registered buses also included Temsa (three units), Mercedes-Benz and Fiat (two units each).

At the same time, the information and analytical group AUTO-Consulting on its website reports that sales of new buses (excluding minibuses) in January increased by almost 2.3 times compared to January last year, to 150 units, while buses were bought by both government organizations and businesses.

"The last time AUTO-Consulting recorded such indicators was in 2017-2018, i.e. this segment actually got out of the crisis and is growing rapidly," the experts state.

Etalon buses are leading in sales due to the supply of school models, sales of Ataman buses have tripled (also mainly due to the sale of school buses).

At the same time, according to the group, the segment of 12-meter and 18-meter buses "is in suspended animation," although the need for them is great, especially in areas where, due to a shortage of electricity, they have to replace electric vehicles.

According to AUTO-Consulting, most buses were purchased in Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and Sumy regions, and the beginning of the year was also successful for the bus market in Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Kirovohrad and Rivne regions, as well as in Kyiv city.