In January-November 2021 motor cars reclaimed the second place in the list of top export items after copper ores and concentrates. Exports of motor cars amounted to USD 417.6 million and their share in the total exports made up 10.9%, - according to the preliminary results published by the National Statistics Office (Geostat) late in December.
Georgian auto importers have optimistic expectations for 2022 and they deeply hope that car re-export growth from Georgia will reach over 50% in 2022.
Vano Bichinashvili, the founder of "Global Autoimport" declares, that the company can outstrip 2019 data in 2022.
“We expect at least a 50% increase in re-exports in 2022 compared to last year. The forecasts for 2022 are hopeful, but we must look at the situation in the region, as well as how the pandemic will be stabilized. From August 2021, the company's sales are growing from m-o-m, especially in the direction of Azerbaijan. In the case of our company, re-exports to the Azerbaijan increased by 30-40% in 2021 compared to 2020, "- said Vano Bichinashvili.
According to Levan Lukhava, the founder of the car dealer Carloud, in 2021 demand on cars from Azerbaijan almost doubled and re-export hit a record high in last December.
As Lukhava notes, the company is not considering adding of new markets, as increased demand from existing markets looks quite satisfactory for the company at this stage.
"In 2021, compared to 2020, re-exports increased by 50-55%. 2020 was a pandemic year and sales, trade, cargo turnover was down. A recovery was observed in 2021. Our expectations are optimistic for 2022. Carloud mainly made re-exports to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan”, - Lukhava noted.
According to the founder of "Global Autoimport", they had positive dynamics of sales in 2021 and 60% of their re-exports accounted for Azerbaijan. As of Bichinashvili, Azerbaijan market still has the potential for growth in 2022, he notes that re-exports to Azerbaijan can reach a 100% increase by the end of this year.
According to Geostat, vehicle re-export stood at USD 413 in 11M21, the growth was 14.5% y-o-y.
