Azerbaijan vehicles market falls due to the global pandemic affecting sales. Indeed, Full Year 2020 sales have been 4.548, down 57.1% compared to 2019. Renault impresses and holds almost 30% market share, followed by local brand Khazar.
Economic Environment
Recent data indicates that stumbling activity in H1 due to the pandemic sapping global oil demand and prices, carried over into Q3. GDP contracted 3.9% on an annual basis in January–September (January–June: -2.7% yoy) as both the hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon segments of the economy continued to shrink.
Similarly, the decline in industrial output sharpened through September as a reeling mining sector, dragged down primarily by falling oil production, outweighed solid gains in the non-oil and gas sector.
Meanwhile, on 24 October, S&P Global Ratings affirmed the country’s credit rating at BB+ but downgraded the outlook to negative, due to rising risks to its macro stability and fiscal and external positions amid the military confrontation with Armenia. The conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region shows little sign of abating, with various attempts at internationally brokered ceasefires failing.
Market Trend
The Azerbaijan vehicle market has been severely affected in 2020 by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted sales significantly.
The introduction of new rules regarding the import of pre-owned and new vehicles has fast transformed the domestic industry in these years. Indeed, while the market was opened to import of any type of vehicles and the 90% of import was focused on used vehicles, with a huge number of almost old premium brands imported from Russia and Europe, the recent approach is to limit the import and sustain the opportunity to create a national automotive industry.
In 2019 the car market was pushed up by the success of the new local brand “Khazar” established in 2018 and based on technology imported from Iran.
Thanks to a short lineup based on three models, a sedan and hatch C class model and a D class sedan based on the Peugeot 404 old model, the new brand is able to deliver low-cost models intercepting demand from the used vehicles and middle class. As a result, in 2019 the market scored the highest number of sales with 10.598 units sold.
Full-Year sales for 2020 have been 4.548, reporting a 57.1% decrease compared to 2019.
Brand-wise, this year the new leader Renault held 29.7% market share, followed by the local brand Khazar which held 11.9% market share. Hyundai was in the third position and held 10.2% market share.
The most sold model in the country is the Renault Sandero, holding 23.1% market share.
