Kazakhstani tycoon plans to expand car leasing and launch sales of new Chinese brands

Nurlan Smagulov, founder of Astana Motors, plans to expand vehicle leasing for individuals and businesses, with support from the U.S.-based Penske Automotive Group.

«Greg [Gregory Penske, head of the Penske Automotive Group] has given us valuable advice on developing our business. Next month, we’re sending our specialists to the U.S. to learn from Penske’s vehicle leasing operations. Penske is a market leader in the U.S., and we want them to help us develop this business in Kazakhstan, offering vehicle leasing to both individuals and businesses. We aim to introduce car leasing and elevate the market to a strong level,» Smagulov said during a presentation of MyCar, an online marketplace for new cars.

Smagulov noted that he met with Greg Penske during his trip to the U.S. a month ago. «We met at Toyota Longo, a large dealership for Toyota and Lexus. I’d never seen such a massive dealer center — they sell about 2,500 Toyota and Lexus vehicles per month,» he emphasized.

Penske Automotive Group, with a market cap of $10.2 billion and annual revenue of $30 billion, operates 360 dealerships across nine countries. Its U.S. operations also manage logistics for major companies with a fleet of over 400,000 cargo trucks. However, online car sales remain a developing area for Penske.

«When we told them we sell 200 cars monthly through our online marketplace MyCar, they were amazed. We aim to reach a target of 1,000 monthly online sales. Currently, we manage six brands and 25 dealerships, and next year, we plan to expand to 150 dealerships and 10 brands,» Smagulov highlighted.

Initially designed to sell used cars, MyCar dealer centers now handle over 1,000 new car sales per month. As Smagulov explained, purchasing a new car on MyCar takes only 10 to 15 minutes. MyCar representatives added that customers seeking credit can receive offers from eight Kazakhstani banks with a single application, with car loan interest rates starting at 19%. MyCar’s 25 dealerships represent brands like Hyundai, Subaru, Chery, Changan, Haval and Tank.

During his U.S. trip, Smagulov also met with Chip Perry, founder of AutoTrader.com, the largest American online car marketplace, as well as Steve Greenfield, founder of Automotive Ventures, and Brian Benstock, general manager and vice president of Paragon Honda & Acura. Since one dealer center of the official Honda and Acura dealership sells about 15,000 cars annually, discussions with Benstock inspired Smagulov to bring fresh ideas to his Kazakhstani operations.

«Chip, Steve and I reached an agreement — they’ll visit Kazakhstan in December with Brian. Together, we’re setting up a $15-million fund to invest in American startups focused on the automotive industry,» Smagulov announced.

According to Smagulov, Automotive Ventures reviews about 60 proposals each month from startups in automotive retail. Smagulov also met with Hyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker to discuss potential cooperation.

«Randy and I agreed to collaborate in digitalization. Hyundai is exploring online sales through Amazon. In the U.S., don’t get me wrong — I’m not criticizing — there aren’t online sales of hundreds of cars on marketplaces; they only sell dozens per month. This is a new field for them, and Hyundai Motor America is the first in the industry to try selling cars through Amazon, although currently only Amazon employees purchase those cars,» Smagulov explained.

He noted that several dealer centers in Kazakhstan already represent Chinese brands such as Chery, Haval and Tank. On Dec. 15, a new dealer center for another Chinese brand, BYD, is set to open in Almaty, marking the start of official sales of this brand in the region. The company also plans to launch sales of Chinese electric vehicle brands Song Plus and Han.

According to Forbes, Smagulov ranks eighth among Kazakhstan’s wealthiest individuals, with a fortune estimated at $980 million. His company, Astana Group, oversees major ventures, including Astana Motors, the Mega shopping and entertainment center network, and MyCar, which is developing a comprehensive car sales ecosystem.

During the MyCar presentation, Smagulov also revealed plans to open a multi-brand automotive plant for Chinese brands Chery, Haval and Changan scheduled to be operational by April 2025. Approximately half of the cars produced at the plant will be allocated for export.