According to the official statistics, the average age of a car on Ukrainian roads had reached 16 years. Unofficial reports suggest that the average age of automobiles in Ukraine is even higher, possibly 21 years.

Old cars dominate Ukrainian roads

Experts believe that the domination of old vehicles in Ukraine is the result of several factors, Finance.ua reported.

For instance, Ukrainians started to buy more cars due to the fact that more people were able to afford them when the economy was at its peak 10 years ago.

Many people purchased automobiles on credit. Then the situation changed sharply and people were no longer able to afford to purchase a brand-new vehicle.

There are more used vehicles being sold compared to new ones.

Thus, from January to May 2019, approximately 240 thousand used vehicles and 32,200 new cars have been officially sold to new owners. That means Ukrainians purchase old cars more often than new ones.

Unregistered cars in Ukraine

Since purchasing a new auto is unaffordable, importing new vehicles from the countries of the European union to which Ukrainians now have an open access as tourists is a way to earn money for many locals. Having bought a cheap vehicle in Europe, the person drives it to Ukraine and simply continues to use it there or even sells to someone else, without actually paying the duty and filling the registration documents.

Plenty of such worn out automobiles have not been officially registered yet as having been imported to Ukraine. This is why experts believe that the actual age of automobiles on roads is even higher than 16 years as suggested the official statistics.

Read also:

• Owners of old cars will be fined in Russia
• 5 things Ukrainians hate about public transport
• 10 surprising facts about dating Ukrainian women
• In Ukraine women over 30 are viewed as damaged goods