Establishing new automobile plants is a serious mistake – Yuliy Yusupov

Economist Yuliy Yusupov expressed his opinion on creation of new enterprises for manufacturing automobiles in Uzbekistan.

“Frankly speaking, it is completely incomprehensible to me. When people talk about development of competition in the automobile market of Uzbekistan, they most often mean the creation of new enterprises.

This is a serious mistake. We cannot afford a few more manufacturers! We do not need them! In this industry, scale effect works powerfully: manufacturers with little sales will inevitably have high costs,” he noted.

According to the economist, for “complete destruction” of the monopoly in this market, it is necessary to reduce the customs duties on imports to a “reasonable” level. Then consumers will have a choice, the industry will have competitors, and the budget will have revenues from the market (customs duties, which are now practically not paid due to the insignificant size of imports).

“Only corrupt officials, who profit from kickbacks for expensive components and selling cars, as well as ineffective managers, who are unable to start competitive production, will lose,” he said.