– Due to the military state of emergency and the constant rocket bombardment of our fuel depots, we are experiencing a serious shortage of fuel for cars, says Mykhailo Katruk. The 33-year-old has since he was 18 imported cars to Ukraine from Europe and the USA. Lately, Norwegian, used electric cars have become the big news for his customers. Mykhailo Katruk has been importing cars for many years, and the latest is to get used, cheap electric cars from Norway. Photo: Private / Instagram He made it to Lviv in the west of the country, and says he lived relatively peacefully. Even far away from the front line, Katruk says that Ukrainians often look in the fifties in the morning for gas stations that may have received fuel so that they can drive kids to school, travel to work or go to the doctor and the grocery store. But there is little or nothing to find. “Some people sell their expensive SUVs for nothing to buy a cheap, electric car like a Nissan Leaf or Renault Zoe,” he says. Lack, not price Norwegian newspapers and comment fields are full of discussions about the fuel price a day. But no matter how expensive it is, we still have access to it. There are no more cities like this in Europe. Global diesel stocks are at their lowest level since 2008. Several countries in Eastern Europe are in danger of ending up in a fuel crisis. In Ukraine, they are struggling to bring in petrol and diesel due to the war. At the same time, many Ukrainians return home to the west of the country after Russian forces were squeezed out. It increases consumption while imports stagnate. In many cities, you have to stand in line for hours before you can buy a maximum of ten liters of diesel or petrol. On May 2, these pumps at a gas station in Kyiv were emptied and closed. Photo: VALENTYN OGIRENKO / Reuters The queues can often be several hours long for a few liters of fuel – if there is anything to be found in the whole thing. Here from a gas station in Kyiv on March 1. Photo: VALENTYN OGIRENKO / Reuters Ukrainians push an empty car towards a gas station in Kyiv on 12 May. The country has been lacking fuel since Russia’s invasion in February. More people in Eastern Europe want electricity More Norwegian car salesmen news has spoken to confirm that they have recently received inquiries from Ukrainians about buying electric cars. – I have had a couple visit, says Tom Kaare Riis, owner of Elbilhallen in Sandnes. He claims that they can sell a Nissan Leaf 2016 model, which costs 120,000 kroner in Norway, for 160,000 kroner in Ukraine. – But I’m a little skeptical about it. I have exported before, but now there are so few electric cars in the Norwegian market, he says. The owner of Bilteknikk1 AS, Almin Maksumic, has been contacted both by e-mail and telephone by people who want to buy electric cars for Ukraine. – They want to buy the cars that are a little cheaper in price, between 50,000 and 60,000. Those who contact us are intermediaries, who in turn sell the car on to Ukraine, says Maksumic. news has also seen e-mails sent to dealers from Ukrainians themselves who say their family needs an electric car due to the lack of fuel. Fewer taxes = more import cars In recent years, Ukraine has also eased more customs duties on electric cars, and Katruk says he noticed a greater interest in electric cars even before the war. But after Russia’s invasion, demand has only risen. On April 5, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law removing all taxes on car imports – except from Russia, of course. – Many Ukrainians lost their cars or they were destroyed in the military invasion. For many, this is a way to get a new car for cheap money, says Katruk. Cheap, electric and with relatively low mileage – these are the Norwegian used cars Katruk wants for Ukraine. Photo: Finn.no / Screenshot But why entirely from Norway? Katruk says he imports cars from different countries for different reasons. Some countries have their own rules and more or less taxes for different types of cars. For the most part, Katruk has previously imported from Lithuania, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands. But even though Norway is often seen as an expensive country for the most part, our used electric cars are actually relatively cheap, says Katruk. – Divers (used cars) have low mileage. For example, German cars with 100,000 kilometers will be counted as almost new and will be expensive, even for the Germans themselves. – They have a fairly high standard of living, so I always see that the car service is of very high quality, says Katruk. The road from Stavanger, where Mykhailo Katruk recently tried to buy a Renault Zoe from, to Lviv is long. news has been in contact with Statistics Norway, the Customs Service and the Road Traffic Information Council. No one had clear figures about how many used electric cars were exported from Norway.
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Ukrainians buy Norwegian electric cars due to lack of petrol and diesel – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
