Azerbaijan sees increase in demand for import of used cars from Georgia

Car export trends from Georgia have been changing in recent months, and the demand is growing in Azerbaijan that has always been the largest market for Georgian car importers. Used Opel cars are the most in-demand vehicles in Azerbaijan, Report informs, citing Georgian Commersant agency.

According to Elguja Jagmaidze, Director of the Robani Motors car importer, the business has adapted to the pandemic, and little by little, the situation has begun to improve: "This does not mean that sales have grown significantly, but we see positive trends. For example, in Azerbaijan, the demand has grown mainly for Opel cars made in 2006-2010, ranging from $2,800 to $3,500. These vehicles meet the Euro-4 fuel standard introduced in Azerbaijan several years ago," he said.

According to Elguja Jagmaidze, Georgia doesn't almost export new cars to Azerbaijan, mainly re-exports used cars: "Azerbaijani car importers have direct contacts in Europe, and are bringing more cars than before. Mainly small business cooperates with Georgia that is focused on quickly meeting the demand for cheap cars," the importer notes.

A few years ago, Georgia imported cars from Europe but now mostly cars from the USA and Japan. Currently, the re-export of cars is one of Georgia's largest export commodities. In particular, in 2017-2020, re-exports amounted to $1.5 billion, including $834 million in 2019 and 437 million in the pandemic 2020.

According to Sakstat, Georgian statistics service, in January-August 2021, 24,508 vehicles worth $163 million were re-exported to Azerbaijan. In the reporting period of 2021, the re-export of cars increased by 63.5% compared with the same period.