Almaty, January 17, 2018. Today a press conference of the Association of Kazakhstan Automotive Business (AKAB) was held, dedicated to the results of the activities of the Kazakh automotive industry and the car sales market in 2017, as well as the Association’s plans and trends for 2018.
According to AKAB, since March 2017, domestic auto retail has shown positive dynamics month after month. Official dealers sold 49051 units of passenger cars, commercial vehicles and buses last year. Demand for new cars increased by 6.1%.
The market recovery after falling sales during 2014-2016 was the most important event of 2017. The past year was successful not only for importers, but also for domestic car manufacturers. According to AKAB, over the 12 months of 2017, six Kazakh automobile factories produced 19086 units of equipment (cars, trucks and buses) for a total amount of 139,5 billion tenge. In physical terms, this is three times the results of 2016. Every third car sold in the country, including commercial vehicles, is produced in Kazakhstan. According to the Statistics Committee of the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the share of the automobile industry in mechanical engineering of the Republic of Kazakhstan in monetary terms has doubled, tax payments to six automobile enterprises in 2017 amounted to about 7 billion tenge. According to ACAB forecasts, in 2018 the growth of the car market will continue and amount to 15-20%.
Vice-President of AKAB Anar Makasheva reportedthat the level of localization of automotive production increased in 2017: “Our goal is to achieve 50% localization of production by the end of 2019. Kazakh manufacturers are making every effort to increase the share of localization, and at the end of 2017 it was increased to 36%. The state will continue to support automakers through the implementation of a state program for the sale of cars at 4% per annum.". This program has yielded positive results, and its implementation will continue in 2018. The state has already allocated about 10 billion tenge to support the automobile industry, and at the beginning of this year, Kazakhstanis will again be able to purchase domestically produced cars on credit through second-tier banks and at 3% per annum on lease for commercial vehicles. “This program has proven itself well in the commercial equipment segment. Leasing at 3% per annum is provided by DBK Leasing JSC, the terms of the program are quite attractive: about 30% of the down payment, a small package of documents required for registration. For small and medium-sized businesses, this is the most comfortable way to purchase commercial equipment.", - considers Anar Makasheva.
At the press conference, it was noted that the TOP 5 best-selling cars in the Republic of Kazakhstan by brand at the end of the year were headed by Toyota with a sales result of 9267 cars and a market share of about 21%. Lexus sales amounted to 1175 vehicles, for the brand in the premium market it was 40,7%. The president spoke about how these brands have managed to maintain leading positions in their segments for many years Toyota Motors Kazakhstan Keith Simmons. According to the forecasts he voiced, the market will grow faster than in 2017, and the growth will be 5-10 thousand units. “We appreciate that Kazakh consumers respect our brands, so last year we took steps to strengthen our dealer network and increase the culture of customer service. This moment has always been very important for us. We hope that in 2018, thanks to the activities of ACAB, it will be possible to more actively contact clients.”- he noted. The President of Toyota Motors Kazakhstan said that the company will continue to develop social initiatives, in particular, partnerships with the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee, focusing on supporting Paralympic athletes.
At the end of 2017, 1480 Kazakh cars worth 5,8 billion tenge were exported to near and far abroad; Compared to 2016, in 2017 the export of Kazakh automotive products increased fourfold. This, at first glance, not very impressive figure is significant for the market: it indicates that Kazakhstan has indeed begun to supply quite large volumes of equipment abroad, noted the executive director of KMK Astana Motors Anton Afonin. In the reporting year, 1205 Lada 4×4 vehicles were exported to China and 66 JAC S3 crossovers to Tajikistan and Russia. The leader in the export of trucks is the Hyundai Trans Auto company, which exports Hyundai HD78 and Hyundai HD 35 trucks worth almost 2 billion tenge to Russia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. “For our company, Russia remains the main export market. The potential of the Russian market is enormous. At the end of last year, the Kostanay SaryArkaAvtoprom plant launched a full cycle line for automobiles. JAC, and I hope that their plans to export cars to the Russian Federation will take place, because then the volume of Kazakh automobile exports will be measured in tens of thousands of cars. But when planning to enter the Russian market, you need to understand that we will not be able to offer those models whose production is already localized there. Therefore, you need to rely primarily on models that are either not represented on the Russian market or are not produced at Russian enterprises. As for passenger cars, this is a line JAC, and for commercial vehicles - some models produced Hyundai Trans Cars»- Anton Afonin reported. He also optimistically assessed the prospects for the supply of Kazakh cars to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
One of the trends that will continue in 2018 is the transition of the Kazakh vehicle fleet to alternative fuels. This trend dictates the need to develop infrastructure for servicing electric vehicles. At the initiative of AKAB, a corresponding project is being implemented, noted the general director Mercury Cars Kanat Akishev. This year, he said, the company plans to bring electric cars from brands represented by Mercur Auto to Kazakhstan, but before selling the cars, it is necessary to create an infrastructure to service them, that is, charging stations. The relevance of this problem goes beyond the boundaries of one brand or brand, and to solve it it is necessary to unite the efforts of all dealers, emphasized Kanat Akishev. “The customer who will ultimately use the electric vehicle must be able to refuel it. We take on the task of creating working groups, because the need to create charging stations is dictated by the market itself. The brands we represent have already decided at the global level to produce electric vehicles, and in many countries, starting in 2025, it is planned to introduce a ban on the import of cars with internal combustion engines. Therefore, for us, on the one hand, this is a topic of the future, and on the other hand, a problem of today.”- commented the manager Mercury Cars.
At the end of 2016, a program for the redemption of old cars was launched in Kazakhstan, under which Kazakh car owners will be able to recycle their old car and receive monetary compensation or a discount certificate for the purchase of a new car made in Kazakhstan. The denomination of the certificate, as well as the amount of monetary compensation, depends on the category of the vehicle being returned. More details about this program said Ryskul Esdauletova, head of the VETS project implementation department of ROP Operator LLP. At the end of 2017, ROP Operator collected about 40 thousand cars. To implement this program, 17 storage points for end-of-life vehicles (VETS) have been created in Kazakhstan. “If the owner of a car being scrapped wants to issue a discount certificate, he should take into account that the certificate is valid for up to one year and during this time it can be re-registered twice in the name of other persons,” — explained the representative of Operator ROP LLP. Since the beginning of the program, the operator has collected about 8 thousand cars, for which a corresponding number of discount certificates have been issued. To date, more than 3 thousand cars produced in Kazakhstan have been purchased using certificates. “Under this program, passenger cars are currently being purchased, but we expect that in 2018 legal entities interested in purchasing commercial vehicles will show interest in the program,” — Ryskul Esdauletova commented.
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