2024-04-01 21:26:15
Since April of last year, it has been prohibited to bring passenger cars older than 10 years to the territory of Azerbaijan. The government attributes this decision to the aging of the car fleet in the country, as well as environmental factors. According to official figures, about 5 percent of passenger cars were less than five years old. The service life of 83 percent of cars in the country exceeds 10 years, and 45 percent exceeds 20 years.
It is not without reason that the car park in Azerbaijan is old. Before the devaluation in 2015, the car park in the country was younger. Since that date, the decrease in the social welfare of the population, the decrease in the purchasing power of the manat, as well as the high duties related to the import of cars, have directed the population to more old cars. Last year, the figures of the State Customs Committee on the import of cars into the country show that the 10-year limit increased the car expenses of citizens even more. In addition, the increase in the number of cars imported to Azerbaijan in 2023 is also noteworthy.
A total of 88 thousand 151 cars were brought to Azerbaijan during the last year. The import of so many cars cost the country 1 billion 515 million dollars. In 2022, 68 thousand 684 cars were imported to Azerbaijan and 845 million dollars were paid for this import. So compared to that year In 2023, the number of cars imported to Azerbaijan increased by 28 percent, and the amount of funds spent on car imports increased by 79 percent. While the average import value of cars imported to the country in 2022 was 12.3 thousand dollars, in 2023 this indicator increased to 17.2 thousand dollars, increasing by 40 percent.
Interest in electric cars has increased sharply
Last year, a point in the import of cars to Azerbaijan – a sharp increase in the share of electric cars in the total import – is worth noting. 3 thousand 102 brought cars worked only with electric engine. In 2022, this number was only 486. So, last year, the number of electric cars imported to the country increased more than six times. 3.5 percent of passenger cars imported to Azerbaijan throughout the year had electric engines. A year ago, this figure was less than 1 percent. The number of electric cars imported to Azerbaijan last year is more than the total number of electric cars imported in all previous years.
In addition to electric cars, the number of cars with hybrid engines continued to increase. In 2023, 14 thousand 98 cars with hybrid engines were brought to Azerbaijan. This means an increase of 24 percent compared to 2022, 9 percent compared to 2021, and almost three times compared to 2020. Last year, 20 percent of cars imported to the country were electric or hybrid.
What does the government think?
From some recent decisions, it seems that the government is not happy with the expansion of car imports from abroad. One of the main reasons for this is the government’s policy of reducing currency outflow from the country in the years after devaluation. The government, as in many other areas, is taking steps to ensure that the funds used for these purchases remain in the country in the import of cars. One of the main tools for this is increasing the share of domestic car production in car purchases. However, the lack of competitiveness of the cars produced in Azerbaijan reduces the interest in those cars. For this reason, the government already wants to increase interest in domestically produced cars through administrative methods. It should not be forgotten that the sale of passenger cars produced in the country was exempted from VAT for 10 years starting from 2023 with the decision made last year.
Freedom radio