Sales of Kazakhstan-made cars are growing

The Kazakhstani car market is recovering from the crisis and is slowly increasing sales volumes of domestic production. Experts from the Association of Kazakhstan Automotive Business name 2 main factors that influenced the domestic automobile market. Here are the global drop in oil prices and the large exchange rate difference between the tenge and the Russian ruble for the period 2014-2015. During this time, more than 300 thousand cars were imported into our country, which created deferred demand for 18-20 months. And the Kazakh people themselves are becoming thrifty and managing their finances carefully. But there are also advantages. Domestic cars have become much more affordable. Largely thanks to the preferential lending system. Vladimir Gerasimenko, executive director of the Association of Kazakhstan Automotive Business: — For 2015, the state allocated about 26 billion tenge for this program. A significant portion of these vehicles were purchased for this program. About 30% of cars were purchased under this program, and they are of Kazakhstani content. Those. a car made in Kazakhstan has become more accessible, quality is increasing, and the level of localization is increasing. The price segment of models offered by dealers to the public has also changed. Vladimir Gerasimenko, executive director of the Association of Kazakhstan Automotive Business: - For those who import, naturally, the price had an impact. Changed upward compared to cars of Kazakhstani content. The average cost, I will say approximately, for cars that are imported to Kazakhstan, if taken in tenge, is 4-7,2 million. The average cost of a car that is produced and sold is from 4 to 5,2 million. The difference is significant. Dauren Akedzhanov, head of the sales department of the car dealership: “The demand for cars is in the sedan and crossover classes. Let's not talk specifically about models. In general, if we compare the statistics of that year, then there has been more or less growth in these cars. Experts are cautious with forecasts for the future. They say that the further development of the market will largely depend on a number of macroeconomic factors. But even despite the rising cost of fuel, sales are going on in the domestic market. In this regard, car dealers plan to sell about 45 thousand cars on the domestic market, and in 2017 this volume may already reach 65 thousand cars. Authors: Vladimir Bovkis, Valentin Lobanov, Almaty.