Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 21
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
Car market takes the second largest place in the consumer segment in Azerbaijan after the real estate market, and all the events taking place there attract the attention of the population, Ramil Osmanli, director of the Expert Center for Real Estate, said in Baku at a press conference on the situation on the car market.
“Over the past three years, many decisions affecting the car market have been made in Azerbaijan,” he said. "In 2014, the country’s Central Bank decided to secure loans in the car market, and this had an impact on the allocation of loans in this sector. Then new environmental standards were adopted. These and other decisions had a significant impact on the car market.”
The expert noted that in recent years Azerbaijan has significantly reduced the import of cars: in 2015, imports decreased 2.5 times compared to 2014, and in 2016 - six times compared to 2014.
Commenting on the increase of customs duties on car imports, the expert noted that he considers this decision premature.
“Azerbaijan has not yet established its own production of cars,” he noted. “So this decision may lead to reduction in the number of cars imported into the country.”
The car plant Azermash is being built in Azerbaijan’s Neftchala Industrial Site on the basis of an agreement signed between Iran’s automobile manufacturer Iran Khodro and Azerbaijan’s AzEuroCar LLC.
The plant is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2018.
The joint Azerbaijani-Iranian plant is expected to manufacture Dena, Rana, Soren and Samand cars, as well as a number of Peugeot models.
The project’s cost is estimated at 24 million manats and the plant’s annual capacity will be about 10,000 cars.
The cars are planned to be exported to Ukraine, Russia and Central Asian countries in the future.
Under the new tariffs which entered into force in 2018, the duty on the import of new cars with an engine capacity of 1,500 cubic centimeters and more is $0.7 per each cubic centimeter, and for used cars with the same engine volume – $1.2 per each cubic centimeter.
Earlier, the customs duty on the import of new cars with an engine capacity of 1,500 cubic centimeters or more was $0.4 per each cubic centimeter, and for used cars – $0.7 per each cubic centimeter.
For new and used cars with an engine capacity of less than 1,500 cubic centimeters, the import customs duty remained unchanged at $0.4 and $0.7 per each cubic centimeter, respectively.