Uzbek Vehicles Market has grown 10.2% in 2018 with 139.902 sales while the market is rapidly changing opening to the international co-operation after that the Government signed agreements with Hyundai, PSA, Volkswagen and Chinese brands to start local production and sales from the 2019.
Economic Environment
Uzbek economy expanded at a healthy 5.1% annual clip in 2018, decelerating slightly from the previous year’s 5.3%. The overall expansion was driven by the booming industrial sector, largely due to an impressive jump in mining and quarrying output and a robust expansion in manufacturing. Furthermore, the construction, services and transportation sectors also rose at a healthy pace last year, reflecting broad-based growth.
Growth is expected to remain robust this year, propped up by elevated public spending and solid investment activity growth amid ongoing reforms and improving the investment climate.
Market Trend
Uzbek automotive sector is one of the primary industrial areas in the country, but in recent years is struggling for the crisis or the evolution of the CIS area, the principal area of export for the local made production. Indeed, the domestic market has always been controlled by the state-owned GM Uzbekistan, forcing the customers to high price, long wait, low technology and low safety models. But the absence of internal competition has not pushed the local plants to be efficient in terms of quality and cost and compete in foreign markets is hard.
Due to the huge import fees, the domestic market is totally controlled by GM Uzbekistan with just marginal space left to other players. However, key steps towards a market liberalization started to be taken in 2017. As far as GM Uzbekistan, production raised at 135.471 units and a new sales system were in place. Actually to buy a GM Uzbekistan model the only way is to access at Chevrolet.uz portal. All GM models prices have been increased by 25-35 per cent in June 2017 while, following the liberalization of monetary policy, since September vehicles prices are in national currency.
In the last two years, the Government reduced excise tax on vehicles by 26% in order to neutralize the consequences of the harmonization of local currency price with the exchange rate to US dollar in the “grey market”. However, imported vehicles prices changed marginally, while domestic price kept growing.
In the 2018 new key steps have been taken to open the industry.
As first, a Government company, Uzavtosanoat, bought out 100% of GM’s shares in the Asaka car plant. Then bilateral agreements have been signed with Korea, China and with PSA, Hyundai and Volkswagen to allow the start of modern vehicles production (since 2019, Peugeot Boxer, Citroen Berlingo and Volkswagen Amarok) released for internal sales but aiming to export near 90% of production.
To counteract this trend, GM Uzbekistan answer consists on the launch of Chevrolet Cobalt 2017 MY and to the introduction of a completely new model for this market, the Chevrolet Tracker (2019 MY not before).
However, in 2018 the market has improved 10.5% from the previous’ year, ending with sales at 139.902.
New Rules for New Vehicles Import
Since January 1, 2019 new rules are in place to import new vehicles.
Indeed the government is proceeding step by step on opening the market aiming to join the W.T.O. in short. The new rules cancelled the former 120% import duty, leaving a 20% duty for luxury vehicles and totally cancelling taxes on electric vehicles. The Uzbekistan VAT is 20% and must be paid on top import duties.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for Top Brands
