The FINANCIAL — Auto dealers operating in Georgia have seen growth in sales during the first two months of 2014 in comparison with the same period of the previous year. Vehicle import was up 17.5% in Georgia in 2013 versus the year before. Local market consumption dropped to 9.6% in 2013 from the 13% of 2012. Meanwhile increasing demand from Azerbaijan and Armenia encouraged importers and brought about growth of 21% of re-export.
During January-February 2014 AKA GmbH Mercedes-Benz Georgia sold 16 units.
“We sold 102 units during 2013. The company had 143% growth of sales in comparison with the previous year,” Lasha Lomidze, Sales Manager at AKA GmbH Mercedes-Benz Georgia, told The FINANCIAL.
During the current year, the company will be offering exclusive new brands to its customers: the GLA compact SUV costing EUR 27,800; the new C Class, worth EUR 28,700; and the S Coupe, worth EUR 111,800.
Hyundai Auto Georgia sold 56 units during the first two months of 2014.
Hyundai sold 1,100 units in 2013, according to Mariam Giorgobiani, Marketing Manager of the company. The bestselling model of the year was the Hyundai IX35. “The price starts from USD 23,150. “October is the bestselling month for our company,” she added.
The Hyundai i10 and Facelifted Elantra are brand new models that the company will be offering its customers in 2014.
In total, 81,250 units of vehicles were imported in Georgia in 2013, up from the 67,099 of the previous year’s figure. 73,414 cars were re-exported from Georgia in 2013. Re-export had 21% growth in comparison with 2012.
Germany, with 24,646 units, worth USD 302,527,900, Japan with 21,488 units worth USD 156,281,400, and the USA with 18,093 units worth USD 120,795,700, are the top three auto exporter countries in Georgia. Azerbaijan and Armenia still remain the top destinations for auto retailers for re-export.
Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Toyota and BMW remain the top most popular auto brands.
According to GeoStat, 14,342 units of Mercedes-Benz were imported in Georgia in 2013.
Another German brand, Opel, shared second place as the list of bestselling cars amounted to 8,943. Japanese Toyota follows the German brands with 6,900 units, while sales of another German brand – BMW – amounted to 6,339.
“Demand is increasing for models which did not particularly interest our customers in the past,” said Ia Modebadze, Marketing Manager at Iberia Business Group, an official representative of Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda Auto, Mitsubishi Motors, Peugeot, KIA motors and Renault. Iberia Business Group invested GEL 4 million in Rustavi to open a new automotive market there called “Myauto” in 2011. “The most popular cars in recent days have been the Kia Cee’d and Kia Soul. Generally speaking, each brand has its most popular models such as the Kia Sportage and Cerato, Vokswagen Tiguan and CC, Mitsubishi Pajro and ASX, Audi A8 and Q5. The fact that Skoda has issued a brand new model called “Rapid”, which is for sale in the retail market, has led to increased customer interest in the group. Due to the affordable prices and good offers at Kia, the company has greatly increased in popularity recently. As for Mitsubishi, its advantage lies in it being off-road – it handles very well in places where there is literally ‘no road’,” she added.
Customers can buy cars starting from USD 17,600 at Toyota Center Tbilisi. The maximum price is USD 78,700.
“In our showroom at the moment we have a Lexus, which is a business class, luxury brand,” said Nino Gagua, Sales Manager. “In general, our market is cheaper compared to markets in Azerbaijan or in Armenia. Nowadays when Georgian customers come to buy a car, they tend to be very well-informed and prepared in advance. In the past we were seeing people that were a bit unsure. There has been a noticeable shift in the confidence levels of our buyers, however, and now when they come in they know what they want and they tell us what it is that they need. They are already putting emphasis on the value of long-term aspects. Customers do not only pay attention to the visual aspect of cars now, but the technical side as well. Taking into consideration all of these factors, the Toyota RAV4 is the overall bestselling car, not only in Georgia, but worldwide as well. The Land Cruiser 200 and Land Cruiser Prado are other favourite cars of Georgian customers,” she added.
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