China tops the list of the top five countries supplying cars to Moldova, accounting for 18% of the market: in 2025, 12.2 thousand Chinese cars worth $108 million were imported
At the same time, cars from Germany accounted for nearly the same volume of imports to Moldova—$105 million (17.4%). The top five countries supplying cars to Moldova also include Japan—$72 million (11.9% of the market), the Czech Republic—$54 million (9%)—and the United States—$51 million (8.5%). Cars were also imported from France, South Korea, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Romania, Austria, and others. These figures were presented by IDIS Viitorul economic policy expert Viaceslav Ionita during his weekly program. He noted that Moldova’s auto market is undergoing one of the most rapid transformations in recent decades, both in terms of import value and the affordability of cars for the population. According to the expert, there is a significant gap between the number of imported cars and the number of cars registered in Moldova; however, an analysis of data on imported cars, particularly over the past five years, reflects key trends and changes in the market. Thus, the value of imports of vehicles and components rose from $384 million in 2020 to $1.069 billion in 2025, of which $946 million is directly attributable to vehicle imports. In the 2025 import structure, passenger cars account for the largest share—67.3%, followed by spare parts—10.2%, tractors—8.5%, trucks—7.9%, special-purpose vehicles—3.6%, buses—2.5%, and other vehicles—0.1%. The expert noted that the affordability of cars for Moldovan citizens has improved significantly over the past 20 years. While in 2001–2005 the average price of an imported car was $11.7 thousand, and a Moldovan resident had to work approximately 16.5 years to afford a car, in 2021–2025 the average price reached $18.3 thousand, but the time required to make the purchase has dropped to nearly two years. “Over the past 20 years, car affordability has increased tenfold; cars have become a commodity that more and more Moldovans can afford,” stated Veaceslav Ionita. The data presented by the expert also shows a sharp increase in the number of imported cars. While approximately 2.6 thousand cars were imported annually between 2001 and 2005, and about 6.3 thousand between 2011 and 2015, that number reached 33 thousand units in 2025. At the same time, for the period up to 2020, there is a significant gap between the number of imported cars and the number of cars registered in Moldova. Another trend is the rapid growth in electric vehicle imports. In 2020, out of a total of 10.2 thousand imported vehicles, about 1,7 thousand had electric motors. In 2025, nearly one-third of the 33 thousand imported vehicles were electric. This category is dominated by hybrid or gasoline-powered plug-in models, which currently account for more than 85% of all electric vehicles imported into Moldova. At the same time, the expert emphasized that Moldova is approaching the level of developed countries in terms of the number of cars per capita. While there were 46 cars per 1,000 residents in 1990, this figure reached 374 cars in 2025 and 386 cars per 1,000 residents in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, Veaceslav Ionita drew attention to the problem of deregistered vehicles and the existence of a large number of “ghost cars.” Of the 904 thousand cars registered in the country, more than 650 thousand are actually in use, while nearly 254 thousand have neither insurance nor a valid vehicle inspection. // 15.05.2026 – InfoMarket.
