Southern regions lead in car purchases: statistics for Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson regions

More and more transactions on the Ukrainian car market are taking place online, but activity in the regions varies significantly. In February this year, the Odesa region was among the leaders in terms of the number of car sales transactions, the Mykolaiv region showed stable demand on the secondary market, and the Kherson region remains one of the smallest car markets in the country due to the security situation.

This is evidenced by data from the Car Market Research Institute, according to NikVesti.

Domestic market due to "Diy" in February 2026. Infographic: Automotive Market Research Institute

Southern regions in the domestic market

The domestic passenger car market in Ukraine is undergoing a period of active digitalisation. In February, almost every third purchase and sale transaction took place online through the "Diy" service, confirming the rapid growth in the popularity of electronic services.

Among the southern regions, the Odesa region remains the most active in the secondary market, with 2,865 domestic car resales in February, securing its place among the country's leaders. The Mykolaiv region recorded 949 transactions, and the Kherson region recorded 126.

Car imports in February 2026. Infographic: Car Market Research Institute

Import of used cars: Odesa region among the leaders

In the segment of first registrations of used cars imported from abroad, the western regions, through which the main logistics routes from Europe pass, maintain their leadership.

However, among the southern regions, the Odesa region is quite active, with 800 imported used cars registered in February. This is one of the highest figures in the country and ranks sixth overall.

In the Mykolaiv region, there were 166 such registrations, and in the Kherson region, there were 15 cars, which is approximately 0.11% of the total volume of imports.

New cars: limited demand in the south

In February 2026, the new car market continues to show an extraordinary concentration in the capital: almost half of all first registrations are in Kyiv. Corporate fleets, leasing companies and state-owned enterprises play a significant role in this.

Among the southern regions, the Odesa region has the best performance — 282 new cars, which allowed it to enter the top three regions after the capital and Lviv region.

The Mykolaiv region registered 52 new passenger cars, and the Kherson region registered four.

Purchase of new cars in February 2026. Infographic: Car Market Research Institute

The south in the overall picture of the car market

The data shows that the Ukrainian car market is shaped by three key factors: the digitisation of internal operations through Diia app, the logistical role of western regions in car imports, and the financial concentration of the new car market in the capital.

Within this structure, the southern regions have different dynamics. Odesa remains one of the most active regions in the country, especially in the secondary market and in car imports. Mykolaiv shows moderate but stable activity. Kherson, meanwhile, remains one of the smallest market segments.

It should be noted that in 2025, approximately 7,000 cars imported from abroad were registered in the Mykolaiv region. For comparison, there were more than 23,000 such cars in the Odesa region and 643 in the Kherson region.