Azerbaijan bans import of old cars

By the decree of Azerbaijan PM Arthur Rasizade, Azerbaijan legislation bans the importation of the cars older than 2001. The decision was made to bring the country closer to European standards. The PM explained that the country established the Euro 4 standard.

The ban will be a serious challenge to Georgian business, as it is well known that the re-export of second-hand cars from Georgia into different countries, including Azerbaijan, is one of the priority items of the Georgian export market and the economy in general.

The European Union follows special standards targeted against air pollution. Euro 1 standard is applied to the cars produced before 1993; Euro 2 before 1996; Euro 3 – before 2000; Euro 4 before 2005, Euro 5 up to 2008.

Azerbaijan has been the biggest export car market until now. In January 2013, Georgia exported $369 million in automobiles to Azerbaijan.

In 2013, Azerbaijan imported more than 100,000 cars, most of them second hand.