Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbekistan has started sales of cars under the Ravon brand in the domestic market.

Previously, under this brand, the products of GM Uzbekistan automobile plant located in Asaka were only exported, head of Uzavtosanoat Umidjan Salimov said. For domestic customers, the delivery of cars under the Chevrolet brand was carried out.

The Ravon brand for foreign markets was introduced in 2015. Currently, the automobile corporation General Motors and Uzavtosanoat are negotiating the sale of American shares in GM Uzbekistan. According to Salimov, the deal for the redemption of shares is almost complete. Until the end of the year, the U.S. corporation will sell the remaining 10 percent stake in the company.

In 2005, Uzbekistan acquired Daewoo's shares in UzDaewooAuto. Two years later Uzavtoprom (Uzbek Association of Automotive Industry Enterprises) and the U.S.-based General Motors signed an agreement to establish the GM Uzbekistan with an authorized capital of $266.7 million.

GM had previously held a 25 percent stake in the joint venture. Salimov did not specify when and at what price his company, Uzavtosanoat, bought the 15 percent of shares and how much it would pay for the remainder, according to Reuters.

At the same time, negotiations are under way to buy out the GM Powertrain Uzbekistan automobile engine plant, where Americans own over 70 percent of the shares. Nevertheless, GM will continue operating in Uzbekistan on the terms of technical assistance. At the same time, the Uzbek side can continue to produce cars under the Chevrolet brand.

The production of passenger cars in Uzbekistan in January-April this year increased by 26.4 percent, exceeding the mark of 51,000 while manufacturing of automobile engines rose by 37.9 percent to reach 40,780 units.

In the coming years, the company intends to take a dominant role in the automobile market of Kazakhstan through an alliance with the Kazakh Allur Group of Companies JSC, and also to strengthen its position in the Russian market, including through the possible creation of an assembly plant near St. Petersburg.

To date, GM Uzbekistan manufactures eight models at its three production sites in Asaka, Khorezm and Tashkent under the Chevrolet and Ravon brands.

GM Uzbekistan, formerly known as UzDaewooAuto, was created in 1996 on a parity basis by Uzbekistan and South Korean Daewoo Motors.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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