Several owners of car dealerships selling electric vehicles addressed the president Shavkat Mirziyoyev. They accompanied their messages with the hashtags #erkinraqobattarafdorimiz (“we are for a free market”) and #erkinraqobat (“free competition”).
An executive of the King Motors car dealership, which sells BYD EVs, said that the head of state had made great efforts to develop a green economy and popularize electric vehicles among the population.
Since 2023, the presidential decision has allowed the sale of new imported cars not only by official dealers of manufacturers, but also by other importers, which is why many companies began to import cars from China and other countries and sell them at a lower price than dealers.
“We and over 400 other similar business entities organized car dealerships to sell electric vehicles and service points to service them. In 2023 alone, entrepreneurs like us imported 21 thousand electric vehicles worth $630 million. Due to the payment of VAT, recycling fees and other payments, the budget received 1.25 trillion soums,” the entrepreneur said.
According to him, businesses have entered into EV sale contracts with Chinese firms and the full price has been paid for most agreements.
He said that the “business was at a dead end,” and therefore he asked the president to lift the restrictions introduced on April 1 and support the open market.
The director of Trianon Motors, which since 2022 has been selling BYD, Geely Geometry, Zeekr electric vehicles and providing maintenance, Sanzhar Primkulov said that investors from Europe had been hired to work in Uzbekistan.
“Competition has emerged among car dealerships in Uzbekistan... We created a system, after-sales service, we provided warranties for cars. We have hired highly qualified specialists from China. But on April 1, we received a blow. Therefore, dear Shavkat Miromonovich, please help us. We are for a free market,” he said.
A representative of DAFex MOTORS said that due to the imposed restrictions, the business would have to be closed, and asked the head of state to take maximum possible steps to prevent these restrictions from coming into force.
The owner of the SI Motors car dealership, Sitora Vyadenova, said that after 7 years of studies in China, she returned to Uzbekistan and started a electric vehicles sales. She asked Shavkat Mirziyoyev to keep the current procedure for customs clearance and certification when importing cars. “We are for a free market,”she added.
Representatives of AJ Motors, Alliance Motors, CarBazaar, avtodiler.uz and others made similar appeals.
It was reported at the end of December last year, that the government was discussing plans to tighten the rules for the import of cars, including electric cars. It was already planned to ban the import of cars by individuals for commercial purposes from 2024 and return to the procedure for selling new foreign cars only through official dealers. The technical regulatory agency said that project was suspended due to criticism, but it is now back on the agenda.
On March 25, the Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov issued a decree according to which, from April 1, a ban on customs clearance of cars will be introduced if the certificate of conformity is issued in the name of another person. There was no official announcement about the changes coming into force. It was also planned to restore the procedure for selling new foreign cars through official dealers.
The Agency for Technical Regulation recently reported that the changes were planned to be implemented on April 1, but for now the document is in draft status, i.e. the changes have not yet taken effect.
