Automobile industry doubles passenger car production in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstani car makers produced 28,800 passenger cars in Q1 2023. This is a 47.2% increase over the same period last year, according to the Association of Automobile Business of Kazakhstan (AKAB). Among the most popular brands are Hyundai (11,400 cars), Chevrolet (7,400), Kia (5,800) and Jac (4,900).

Overall, in the first quarter, Kazakhstan produced 31,800 vehicles worth $808.6 million in total. This result is 43.3% higher than last year while the machinery industry’s share in the country’s economy reached 44.5%.

These figures include 18,300 vehicles produced by Saryarkaprom in Kostanay (a 4.7% increase), 11,400 passenger cars by Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan (+39.1%), 872 commercial vehicles by SemAz (+9.4%), 250 buses by QazTehna (+420%), and 82 and 78 buses by Hyundai Trans Auto and Daewoo Bus Kazakhstan, respectively.

In contrast, KAMAZ-Engineering from the town of Kokshetau has reported a 16.7% decline in its production. This is the only automobile company in Kazakhstan with negative performance.

Kazakhstan’s export of cars, mainly Hyundai, Jac and Chevrolet, to the EEU member states and other foreign countries also increased to 3,000 vehicles in Q1. Several models of Chevrolet have been produced by Saryarkaavtoprom since 2020.

In April AKAB reported that over the period from January to March 2023, auto dealers managed to increase sales of new passenger and commercial vehicles by 66.7% (37,300 vehicles). The peak of these sales was reported in March (13,700 vehicles, a 27.8% increase on the YoY basis). However, Toyota reported a decline in sales due to problems with its factory in Russia that used to supply vehicles to Kazakhstan. The Japanese auto giant hopes to rebound its sales in April as the company has started importing Camry cars directly from Japan. Camry is the most popular model of the brand in Kazakhstan.

Despite challenges to the global automobile industry and the 2022 disruption in the supply chain due to sanctions against Russia, the country’s market has managed to adapt to the situation. New brands have appeared in the market and the assortment of manufactured cars in Kazakhstan has been expanded.