The decline in the Uzbek car market: the primary market is more stable than the secondary one – CERR analysis

According to the results of the study for June, total sales of motor vehicles in the republic decreased by 13.6% to almost 87 thousand units. On an annual basis, activity decreased by 1.4 times.

At the same time, the primary market for new passenger cars shows more stable dynamics compared to the secondary one. Of particular interest is the segment of electric vehicles, where, despite a 28% decrease in sales in the primary market, the secondary market shows an increase of 2.4%.

This dynamic may be partly due to seasonal factors, since the summer period is traditionally characterized by lower business activity.

The situation in the passenger car segment

After a slight decline at the beginning of the year, passenger car sales showed a recovery in May, when there was an increase of 14% compared to the previous month. However, in June, sales volumes decreased again by 13.3% to 77.6 thousand units. The passenger car market has also declined year-on-year, with sales falling 1.4 times over the year.

The dynamics of passenger car sales in the regional context shows that in June the largest decrease was noted in Surkhandarya and Andijan regions, as well as in the Republic of Karakalpakstan by an average of 22%.

At the same time, sales growth was noted in some regions. In particular, positive dynamics over 6 months compared to the same period last year was observed in the Khorezm and Navoi regions by an average of 7%.

According to the results of the first half of 2024, sales of passenger cars in Uzbekistan amounted to 580 thousand units, which is 19% lower than in the same period last year. This may be explained not so much by a decrease in demand for used cars, but also by the complication of car registration processes and the increase in the cost of registration and re-registration of a car.

In the secondary market of passenger cars, which accounts for 97.3% of the total decrease in sales, stricter requirements and more expensive registration procedures affected the number of purchase and sale transactions, which in turn could affect the overall sales figures in the car market.

The situation in the primary car market

In the primary passenger car market, sales in June decreased by 9% compared to the previous month, exceeding 26 thousand units. In annual terms, there is a smaller decline in activity of 5.3%.

The primary market for new passenger cars shows more stable dynamics compared to the secondary market.

In June, the downward trend in sales of new cars of domestic production continued. In particular, sales of such cars decreased by almost 10% compared to May. In annual terms, there is a slight decline in activity in this segment by 0.8%.

This trend interrupted the growth in sales of new cars of domestic production, which began in May.

The segment of passenger cars is stagnating

The foreign passenger car market in Uzbekistan is showing signs of stagnation. In June, sales in this segment increased by only 0.4% and amounted to about 2.4 thousand units. This relatively small increase in activity does not compensate for the decrease in sales in annual terms, which amounted to about 34% compared to last year.

The secondary market of passenger cars

The situation in the secondary market of passenger cars is characterized by a decrease in sales dynamics, maintaining the trend of an annual decrease in sales volumes.

In particular, in June, activity in the secondary passenger car market decreased by 15.3% compared to the previous month, when the decrease was 3.4%. During the reporting period, about 51.5 thousand cars were sold in this segment. Overall, sales decreased by more than 1.6 times over the year.

The situation on the EV market

In June, the segment of passenger EVs showed a decrease in sales. The sales volume reached 3 thousand units, which is more than 800 cars less than in May. Nevertheless, compared to the level of June last year, sales of electric vehicles increased 1.3 times.

If sales in the primary market of electric vehicles in Uzbekistan decreased significantly over the month, by 28%, then the secondary market shows the opposite trend. There has been an increase in activity since March, which amounted to 2.4% in June.

CERR Public Relations Sector