Tesla Supercharger stations will appear in Ukraine in 2019, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed in late December. Two Tesla Supercharger stations will serve traffic on Ukraine’s Kyiv-Lviv highway as part of continent-wide expansion plans that will see the Tesla charger network stretch “from Ireland to Kyiv and from Norway to Turkey,” according to Musk.
The news is a welcome boost for Ukraine’s electric car market, which is currently growing at a rapid rate with sales increasing in 2018 by over 50%. However, limited charger infrastructure beyond the country’s largest cities is currently an obstacle to further market expansion. Ukraine’s 2019 state budget extended the VAT exemption on imported electric cars until 2022.
“It is encouraging to see Elon Musk trumpeting the imminent arrival of Tesla Supercharger stations in Ukraine as part of his European expansion plans,” commented UkraineInvest Chairman Daniel Bilak. “This will boost the Ukrainian electric car market while also serving to underline the country’s integration into European networks.”