Kazakh Car Production Dips

Car plants in Kazakhstan produced 8,397 cars in 2016 compared to 12,453 cars produced to 2015. In the last month of 2016, output reached 240 cars compared to 452 cars in November 2016 and 1,648 cars year-on-year, according to the Kazakh Statistics Committee, inform.kz reported. Meanwhile in January to December of the previous year, the Central Asian country produced 362 minibuses compared to 295 in 2015. Truck production in the country increased from 1,544 trucks in January to December 2015 to 1,892  throughout the previous year.Earlier Kazakhstan’s Auto Business Association said that official car dealers’ sales sharply dropped in the country in 2016 (from 97,469 sold new cars in 2015 to 46,712 cars in 2016). Car sales in Kazakhstan have been declining since 2014. Three large car plants - AZIA AVTO, SaryarkaAvtoProm and Agromashholding - operate in Kazakhstan. These plants manufacture Kia, Chevrolet, Skoda, Hyundai, SsangYong, Peugeot and other brands. Kazakhstan’s economic outlook during the previous year was bleak as the financial slowdown in the country took its toll on sales. Another reason for the decline in the industry is that Kazakhs prefer to buy their cars from Russia.