The Automotive industry in Ukraine was established during the Soviet times and until fall of the Soviet Union was an integral part of automotive industry of the Soviet Union. The first Ukraine-based motor vehicle brands were established in the late 1950s.
Ukrainian SSR was the only Soviet republic other than Russia manufacturing various types of automobiles and automotive parts with a former annual output of more than 200 thousand units.
Before agreement with the EU, Ukraine's automobile manufacturers made between 100 and 200 thousand vehicles per year. The major domestic players in this industry were UkrAvto (ZAZ), Bogdan, Eurocar, Electron corporation, Etalon-Avto, KrAZ and LAZ. Locally developed designs continue to prevail in the production of trucks, buses and trolleybuses while production of domestically designed cars such as ZAZ Tavria has decreased. Most car production in Ukraine now involves assembly of European, Korean and Chinese brands.
In April 2018 the Ukrainian carmakers association UkrAutoProm stated that the automotive industry in Ukraine worked at only 2% of their capacity, while the output of motor vehicles was nearly 98% less than that in March 2008.[1]
- ^ Car production in Ukraine plunges by over 98% over decade, UNIAN (24 April 2018)