“Sales of new cars in 2023 increased by a third” – CERR

In 2023, car sales in Uzbekistan increased by 18%, the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR) reported.

In total, the country’s residents re-registered 1.69 million vehicles, including more than 1.5 million passenger cars. Peak sales were observed in May and October – 156 thousand and 186 thousand cars, respectively.

However, in December sales slowed down slightly due to seasonal factors. The total sales volume was about 120 thousand cars, or 8.4% less than the previous month.

An increase in demand is also indicated by the growing volume of car loans. In 2022, 19.6 trillion soums were issued for these purposes, or 2.3 times more than the previous year, and from January to November 2023, banks provided loans worth 34.6 trillion soums for the purchase of cars.

In the primary segment, there was an increase in demand by a third – up to 379 thousand cars. In the last month of the year, sales of new cars fell to 31.1 thousand units, or about 12%.

The sales volume of local automobile industry products exceeded 333 thousand (+25%). At the same time, production reached 395 thousand cars, increasing 1.6 times in two years.

Foreign cars, against the backdrop of lower duties, showed a more than double increase in sales, which amounted to 46 thousand units. The volume of car imports in just eleven months amounted to $1.56 billion, or 2.2 times more than the same period a year earlier.

Sales growth in the used car segment was more modest (+12.6%). However, their volume still reached a peak of 1.16 million.

Experts specifically noted the sharp growth in the electric transport segment. Despite the decline in demand in recent months, 25.7 thousand cars with an electric motor were sold over the year, or 4.3 times more than last year. More than 70% of sales accounted for Tashkent.