Uzbekistan's automobile market experiences downturn in sales

Uzbekistan’s car market noted a trend of accelerated trade decline rates that began in February. According to the results of April, the total sales of motor vehicles in the country decreased by 19 percent, amounting to 88.3 thousand cars.

Experts from the Center for Economic Research and Reforms note that 78.5 thousand passenger cars were sold in April, which is 18.6 percent less than the previous month. 

A decline in light vehicle sales is occurring in all regions of the Republic. The largest decrease was observed in the Namangan, Fergana, and Surkhandarya regions, where sales volumes fell by more than 30 percent. Annually, the light vehicle market decreased by 35.3 percent.

The decline may be associated with a reduction in auto loans and the complexity of their provision rules. In March of the current year, Uzbekistan banks issued auto loans totaling 1.25 trillion UZS. According to data from the Central Bank, this is the lowest figure in the last two years.

A decrease is also observed in the primary market for light vehicles. However, in April, the decline in this segment slowed down, with sales nearly reaching 20 thousand cars for the month – a decrease of only 10 percent compared to 17 percent in March. Additionally, compared to the previous year, this primary market decreased by almost 22 percent.

The trend of declining sales of new locally manufactured cars has continued for the third consecutive month. In April, 17.7 thousand light vehicles were sold, which is 9 percent less than the previous month. Over the year, activity in this area decreased by more than 21 percent.

The foreign light vehicles market experienced a decline of 15.3 percent. A total of 2 thousand foreign cars were sold in April. Sales decreased by 24 percent compared to April of last year.

The secondary market for light vehicles contracted by 21.2 percent. The number of registered vehicles in April was nearly 59 thousand. Yearly indicators show an even more noticeable decrease of 39 percent. Sales in the secondary market have reached their lowest level since the beginning of 2022.

Conversely, the electric car market exhibited high sales performance in April. Sales of light electric vehicles amounted to 2.9 thousand, which is 23.2 percent more than in March.

The most sales were recorded in the capital - nearly 2 thousand vehicles. In annual terms, the sales of electric cars in the republic doubled.