Import of BYD cars to Uzbekistan may be limited

The document notes that the investor (BYD) asked the government to “limit the indiscriminate import of electric vehicles that do not meet local climatic and road conditions, and do not have an official guarantee”.

The President instructed the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade and the Uzavtosanoat company to submit to the Cabinet of Ministers, by July 1, proposals aimed at implementing the investor’s demand to regulate the import of electric and hybrid cars under the BYD brand on the basis of current legislation, including competition laws, as well as the principles of the World Trade Organization.

Let us remind you that Uzavtosanoat and BYD Europe B.V. (Netherlands) created a joint venture, BYD Uzbekistan Factory, to produce electric vehicles with shares of 60% and 40%, respectively. The authorized capital is 55 billion soums.

As part of his state visit to China in January, the president visited the headquarters of BYD and, together with this company, launched a project to assemble hybrid and electric vehicles in the Jizzakh region. At the meeting, the parties agreed to increase production capacity to 500 thousand units in the near future. The President also supported the company’s plans to begin assembling BYD electric buses in Uzbekistan.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev also instructed to accelerate projects in the electric vehicle industry, as well as to establish localization of components for electric vehicles with the Chinese BYD.

At the end of December, Gazeta.uz reported on the development of a draft government resolution, according to which it was planned to tighten the rules for the import of cars and electric vehicles. In particular, from 2024 they wanted to prohibit individuals from importing cars for commercial purposes. In addition, it was proposed to restore the procedure for selling new foreign cars only through official dealers. The document was not accepted.