Import statistics for 2023 show that Chinese automakers have blown past foreign competitors to become the dominant player in Central Asia’s foreign car sales market.

Kazakhstan’s State Revenue Committee reported that just over 149,000 passenger vehicles, both new and used, cleared customs in 2023, Forbes.kz reported. Over 30 percent of the total, or 45,984 mostly new cars, entered the country from China. Georgia, with 39,984, shipped the next highest total to Kazakhstan, but the vast majority were used/rebuilt American and European models. Other exporters included the UAE (20,320 cars), South Korea (14,870) and Japan (11,438). The total value of auto imports by Kazakhstan in 2023 reached about $2.9 billion.

Uzbekistan, meanwhile, is rapidly emerging as both a manufacturing and sales hub for Chinese autos. According to the State Statistics Agency, Uzbekistan imported over 73,000 vehicles in 2023. Of that total, a whopping 58,076 came from China and another 454 came from Hong Kong, representing roughly 80 percent of the overall import number. South Korea (11,481) and the United States (2,210) trailed far behind in the import table.

In early February, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev issued instructions to various government agencies to develop programs supporting electric-vehicle manufacturing in the country. The Chinese electric automaker BYD plans to open a hybrid and electric vehicle-making plant in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh Region. 

“Responsible persons have been given instructions to expand previously defined plans for the electric vehicle industry and speed up the implementation of projects,” Mirziyoyev said in a statement published on the presidential website.

Overall, China was Uzbekistan’s top foreign investor in Uzbekistan in 2023, the State Statistics Agency reported.