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compared to the same period in 2017 due to significant gas reserves in its underground storage facilities.
"Since the beginning of 2018, gas imports from Europe have decreased by 22.9% compared to the same period in 2017 due to significant gas reserves in the underground storage facilities,” the report says. Thus, in January-November 2018, Ukraine imported 10.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the EU countries, which is 3 billion cubic meters less compared to the same period in last year. The largest gas volumes were imported via the gas corridor from Slovakia - 6.2 billion cubic meters, Hungary - 3.2 billion cubic meters and Poland – 0.7 billion cubic meters.
9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Orders for electric trucks from the Bohdan Motors factory “are exceeding the capacity of the company 3 to 4 times,” said Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan, who last month visited the factory in Lutsk, Volyn. Noting soaring demand in Europe, he told the Tiger conference: “We can produce lithium batteries in Ukraine. We can produce electric vehicles in Ukraine.”
New car sales were flat in 2018, growing by 0.6%, or 453 cars, over 2017 levels , reports Ukravtoprom, the industry trade association. Holding new car sales to 81,800, sales of used imports overtake sales of new cars. Pushing used car sales, import duties dropped, an amnesty was negotiated for illegally imported used cars and several German cities passed restrictions on diesel cars, pushing some German owners to sell. For new cars, the top three brands in 2018 were: Toyota, Renault and Volkswagen.
Electric car registrations in Ukraine doubled in 2018 to 12,333 cars.
Pushing 2018 sales to 6,740 cars was a combination of tax exemptions that cut sale prices by 17%, Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan writes on Facebook. The ministry’s goal is to install 1,000 chargers this year, prioritizing parking lots. Working with the European Investment Bank, the government plans to install a network of fast-charging stations, focusing on Lviv-Kyiv-Kharkiv and Kyiv-Odesa. With Europe’s largest known deposits of lithium, Omelyan hopes the Rada will pass legislation in coming weeks to give tax breaks to lithium-ion battery manufacturers.
First time sales of used imported cars doubled in 2018, to 116,800,
Ukravtoprom, reports the car industry trade association. With this growth leap, used imports accounted for 59% of the 198, 600 first time sales recorded last year in Ukraine. With Europe the source of almost all imports, European manufacturers dominated sales of used cars: Volkswagen, Renault, Skoda and Ford.
9.1.3 Transport sector news
The Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine and the Finance Ministry of Ukraine have approved eleven projects on the development of urban public transport worth €163mn in 2018 , Ukrinform reported on December 5. "In 2018, the Infrastructure Ministry and the Finance Ministry have approved eleven subprojects on the development of urban public transport worth €163.36mn. The total sum provided for this purpose by the European Investment Bank is €200mn," the press service of the Infrastructure Ministry reports. As noted, on November 30, 2018, the fourth meeting of the steering
63 UKRAINE Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com