Car import almost dying

The August war, world financial crisis and GEL devaluation have had a very negative impact on the Georgian car market. The purchasing capacity of the population has decreased. Banks have either stopped or restricted issuing loans for car purchase and the overall crisis has almost killed the automobile business.

Georgia was a very intensive hub for re-exporting automobiles into Armenia and Azerbaijan until recently. In 2008 the car import business was among the top three businesses, after oil and oil products. Cars were primarily imported into Georgia from the USA, Germany and Japan, and also from France, Britain, South Korea and the UAE. The purchasing capacity of the Armenian and Azeri markets, where many of these cars headed, has slowed down, thus reducing the number of cars entering Georgia.