Tashkent, Uzbekistan, April 20
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
GM Uzbekistan Joint Venture (formerly UzDaewooAuto in Asaka,) decreased car sales to Russia, which is the main export market of the car plant, by 19 percent (to 12,858 cars) in Jan.-March 2014, compared to the same period of 2013, the Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the Association of European Business said.
The share of GM Uzbekistan cars in the Russian market decreased to 2.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014, according to the Automobile Manufacturers Committee.
Uzbek automobile plant has ranked 14th for the volume of car sales to Russia, as of the first quarter of 2014. However, one of the car models manufactured by GM Uzbekistan didn't enter the top 25 of best-selling cars.
The automobile plant sold some 4,604 cars in March, which is by 35 percent more compared to March 2013, according to the committee.
GM Uzbekistan JV decreased car sales to Russia by 31.1 percent (to 60,829 cars) in 2013, compared to 2012.
UzDaewooAuto JSC was created in 1996 on a parity basis by the Uzbek government and South Korea's Daewoo Motor Company.
Uzbekistan bought Daewoo shares in a joint venture in 2005. Uzavtoprom and General Motors signed an agreement to establish a base for the GM Uzbekistan plant with an authorized capital of $266.7 million in 2007. The U.S. side owns 25 percent of the shares plus one share in the enterprise, with the possibility of increasing it to 40 percent.
Currently, some 75 percent of the shares belong to Uzavtoprom.
Currently, GM Uzbekistan JV produces nine car models. Two of these models, namely, Chevrolet - Captiva and Malibu are manufactured on the SDK technology, while others are produced as part of the full-scale production.
The automobile plant increased its car production by 4.5 percent (to 246,031 cars) in 2013, compared to 2012, and exported around 90,200 cars (an increase by 2.3 percent).