Extension of electric vehicle tax breaks in 2026: should we expect it and how will prices change?

Tax incentives for electric cars, which have had a significant impact on prices and demand, are coming to an end in Ukraine. Find out whether the preferential regime will be extended in 2026, why the state may abandon it, and how this will affect the cost of electric cars for Ukrainians

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The issue of extending tax breaks for electric vehicles remains one of the most pressing for the Ukrainian car market ahead of 2026. As Finance.ua notes, at the end of October, the Verkhovna Rada supported an amendment to the draft state budget that provided for the extension of the breaks until 2027. This refers to the exemption of electric cars from VAT and customs duties.

However, further public statements by politicians and experts indicate that the real chances of extending these incentives are minimal. In particular, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak and other representatives of parliament acknowledge that the head of the tax committee, Danylo Getmantsev, is opposed to the extension. According to him, there will be no more tax breaks for electric cars — a position that is also supported by the government.

How much did the state's electric car incentives cost?

The tax incentives introduced in 2022 had a huge impact on both the market and public finances. Over the entire period of the incentives, the state effectively lost out on around UAH 36 billion. The growth of this amount was rapid:

● 2022 — UAH 2.8 billion;

● 2023 — UAH 8.1 billion;

● 2024 — UAH 10.6 billion;

● in just 10 months of 2025 — already UAH 14.5 billion.

The bulk of the exemptions were for imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles. According to customs statistics, in the first 10 months of 2025, electric cars worth UAH 25 billion were imported from China, UAH 14.8 billion from the US, and UAH 11.7 billion from Germany.

Experts emphasize that passenger cars have traditionally been among the largest sources of customs revenue, so the refusal to grant privileges is seen as a way to fill the budget during wartime.

Why the state does not want to continue privileges

According to Alexander Dzhurinsky, CEO and co-owner of the Vidi group of companies, the preferential regime for electric cars was logical in peacetime and for environmental reasons. Today, when the country is at war, the energy system is destroyed, and hospitals are running on diesel generators, the state cannot afford to lose billions of hryvnia in revenue.

In addition, there are indirect factors contributing to budget losses:

● no excise tax (€1 per kWh of battery capacity);

● no pension fund contribution during initial registration;

● no contribution from electric vehicles to road maintenance funding.

Furthermore, the existing incentives did not contain any restrictions — neither on the cost of the car nor on the number of cars that one person could import. As a result, both budget electric cars costing $15–25 thousand and premium models costing more than $130 thousand were imported into Ukraine on equal terms.

A striking example is the Rolls-Royce Spectre, the most expensive electric car in Ukraine in 2025. Its price was UAH 18.8 million, and the amount of tax benefits during import was about UAH 3.73 million.

This is not critical for wealthy buyers, but for people who buy affordable Chinese electric cars, an additional few thousand dollars can be decisive.

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What will happen to electric car prices in 2026

If the incentives expire on January 1, 2026, the market expects a significant price increase. A representative of Global Electric, in a comment to Finance.ua, notes that by spring 2026, prices for inexpensive electric cars could rise by $7,000–10,000. That is, a car that costs $20,000 will cost about $27,000, and a model that costs $30,000 will cost up to $40,000.

Oleg Omelnytskyi, director of Autoconsulting, confirms that the average price increase could reach about 20%. This will inevitably change the structure of the market.

Experts predict:

● a decrease in the share of new electric cars from the current 34–35% to about 25%;

● an increase in imports of used electric cars, which will be about 30% cheaper;

● a partial return of buyers to gasoline and diesel cars.

An additional factor is the difficulties with imports from China: partners are delaying the processing of documents, and the Chinese government is seeking to streamline exports and redirect them to more profitable markets.

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