“Eurotins” raise the average age of imported vehicles by the factor of 2.5

In 2019–2021, 1,179,167 imported cars were cleared in Ukraine. Over 50% of those (604,319) were older than 10 years.

The statistics show that annual imported vehicle registrations was below 220,000 in 2016–2018, with the average vehicle age hardly exceeding 5 years.

Then, both figures increased by the factor of 2–2.5. In 2019, 564,087 vehicles were cleared, in 2020–422,544, and in Q1 2021–193,536. The average age of the vehicles was 9–11 years.

The quantitative jump was due to legislation passed in 2018 to cut customs clearing costs and introduce sizeable fines for delays in this procedure. It also compelled the owners of so-called eurotins to change semi-legal foreign licence plates to Ukrainian ones. Still, many ignored the new tariffs hoping that the clearing costs will be slashed or outright scrapped going forward.

Approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and signed off by the President, Laws of Ukraine 4643-D and 4644-D promise more preferential terms for clearance of the cars imported before the end-2020. A new wave of eurotin registrations is about to hit, but it’s anyone’s guess how large the overall figure will be.