Everyone in Asia to buy cars/ After Korea, China climbs to second place for imports

2026-03-20 08:01:00, Sociale CNA

Everyone in Asia to buy cars/ After Korea, China climbs to second place for

The geography of vehicle purchases has changed significantly in the last three years, as Albanian consumers are turning to distant Asian countries to purchase vehicles and are "moving away" from Italy and Germany, which until 2023 were the two main countries from which they were imported.

In 2024, South Korea became the country that sent the most cars to Albania for the first time, with almost 20% of the total, according to data from the General Directorate of Road Transport (DPSHTRR).

It maintained this position in 2025, with 21.2 thousand vehicles registered for the first time, or 21% of the total. For comparison, in 2021, only 1.2 thousand vehicles originating from South Korea were registered. The shift towards Korea came because this country offered more economical cars, despite higher transportation costs.

In the first two months of 2026, another trend has been the significant increase in vehicle registrations from China. According to data from the DPSHTRR, for the period January-February a total of 2253 vehicles from China were registered, or about 16% of the total. For comparison, for the whole of 2025, 9126 vehicles from China were registered (fourth after Korea, Germany and Italy), or 9.2% of the total.

The increase in purchases from China is mainly related to the orientation towards electric cars, which not only come at cheaper prices than buying them in Europe, but also have high savings compared to diesel and gasoline vehicles.

According to data from the DPSHTRR, for the first two months of 2026, a total of 1,712 electric vehicles were registered in the country for the first time, or 12% of the total, and 608 hybrids (including the electric option). In 2025, imports of electric vehicles accounted for 5.7% of the total.

First-time car registrations for the first two months increase by 5%

In 2024 and 2025, an average of about 100 thousand cars were registered per year for the first time. In 2025, the number of vehicles in circulation in the country exceeded 1 million (1,061) for the first time, of which 850 thousand are cars.

Even for the first two months of 2026, another 14 thousand vehicles were registered for the first time, with an increase of 5% compared to the same period a year earlier.

South Korea continues to maintain its lead, increasing its dominance, with 3,526 vehicles, or 25% of the total. China is second, followed by Germany (1,940) and Italy (1,822).

Although purchases of electric vehicles are increasing, diesel vehicles continue to dominate, accounting for 52% of vehicles that first entered circulation in January and February./ Monitor Magazine