2019 HAS BECOME A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FOR ASTANA MOTORS
In 2019, the car market of Kazakhstan showed positive dynamics. According to preliminary data, more than 74,000 vehicles were sold in the country last year (including commercial vehicles), and it was 21.5% more than in 2018 (60,928 units).
According to the results of 2019, the total sales of Astana Motors increased by 48% and reached 21,558 units (14,519 units in 2018); the company’s share in 2019 was approximately 30% (compared with 24% last year).
Thus, the company’s sales grow twice as fast as the market. It is a record-breaking result of Astana Motors in terms of annual sales from the time of establishment of the company.
The growth in auto sales is explained by the favorable economic situation in the country and the profitable loan programs. The share of preferential lending under the state program in the company’s sales is 10%, and 70% of the sales is achieved through the lending activities under other financial programs.
“We see that the auto market in Kazakhstan is recovering from a sales decline of 2015-2016. It is confirmed by a steady growth in sales and production of cars over the past years. The overall improvement in the sector has influenced upon the performance of Astana Motors. The company has had impressive results by the end of the year: our sales have grown faster than the market, allowing us to increase the company’s market share by almost 30%,” said Nurlan Smagulov, President of Astana Motors KMC.
Two brands hit sales records
Two brands in the company’s portfolio showed record sales last year: Hyundai and BMW. The main driver was the Hyundai brand. In 2019, the official distributor, Hyundai Auto Kazakhstan, sold 14,853 vehicles and it was 70% more than in the previous year (8,746 units in 2018). Thus, Hyundai became No. 1 brand in Kazakhstan. Autocenter-Bavaria also set a new record by selling 650 cars in 2019. It was 26% more than in the previous year (516 units in 2018).
The top 10 models in the portfolio of Astana Motors in 2019
The top 10 models in the portfolio of Astana Motors in 2019 are as follows:
- Hyundai Tucson (4,765 units)
- Hyundai Accent (3,565 units)
- Hyundai Creta (2,725 units)
- Hyundai Elantra (2,684 units)
- Toyota Camry (1,836 units)
- Hyundai Santa Fe (1,100 units)
- Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (503 units)
- Subaru Forester (439 units)
- Toyota Corolla (429 units)
- Toyota Rav 4 (364 units)
Trade-in
The company sees the prospect not only in the sales of new cars but also in the sales of used cars under the Trade-in program. In 2019, Astana Motors sold 3,659 cars under the Trade-in program that was 62% more than in the previous year. In 2020, the sales of such cars are expected to grow by 64% – up to 6,000 units. An increase in the sales of used cars in the network of Astana Motors is expected through opening of own specialized auto centers which sell used cars, namely Next Car. In 2019, such an auto center was opened in Almaty. In 2020, construction of two large specialized auto centers will be started in Nur-Sultan and Almaty.
Production of commercial vehicles
Hyundai Trans Auto, an auto assembly plant, produced 493 commercial vehicles in 2019 (224 vehicles in 2018). It produces the trucks and the buses of Hyundai, MAZ, and Golden Dragon.
In 2019, the company launched the assembly of the Golden Dragon buses. The company also addresses the issue of increasing localization through complex technological operations of welding and painting. The model range is represented by the buses ranging from 8.5 m to 18 m in size with three types of engine: diesel, gas or electric. The first batches of the Golden Dragon buses produced in Kazakhstan have already been transferred to the vehicle fleets of Almaty and Karaganda. Let us remind that the transportation companies can purchase buses for financial leasing at 7% for a period of 7 years with down payment of 15% of the contract value under the program of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and DBK-Leasing JSC.
In 2019, Astana Motors delivered a total of 180 ambulances which were manufactured at Hyundai Trans Auto to Nur-Sultan, Almaty, and Shymkent. It is planned to increase the delivery of ambulances to 350 units in 2020.
Construction of a car production plant
In April 2019, a capsule was laid for the construction of a car production plant in the industrial zone of Almaty. The shops for assembly, welding, and painting of plastic parts as well as a warehouse of the components were built within six months. In December 2019, the first trial SKD-assembly of a car was carried out on the new equipment. Installation of the painting shop is currently under way.
The entire Hyundai model range will be assembled here on the latest technological equipment manufactured in South Korea, Japan, and Italy. The SKD-assembly line has been launched at the plant during the first stage. In September 2020, it is planned to launch the CKD-assembly line (CKD) with the following processes: welding and painting of the body, painting of plastic parts as well as the assembly line of the interior and exterior of a car. The capacity of the enterprise will be 30 thousand cars per year during the first stage and about 45 thousand cars during the second stage.
The plant will create up to 700 workplaces, and the cost of each workplace will be 35.7 million tenge. The productivity per person will reach 249.6 million tenge per year. It will be technology- intensive and highly-paid work.
It is expected that the first car will come off the assembly line in 2020.
Key financial indicators
According to the results of 2019, Astana Motors became one of the largest taxpayers in the automotive industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Tax and customs payments to the state budget amounted to more than 15.764 billion tenge. The gross turnover of the company in 2019 amounted to approximately 267.8 billion tenge.
Expectations of the company. Plans for 2020
The company sets ambitious goals for 2020 – an increase in the sales by 26% that equals to more than 27,000 cars. Astana Motors will offer new models of the Hyundai brand (Korea), such as Accent, Elantra, Santa Fe, and Palisade as well as the BMW X1 and BMW 5 Series to its customers in the coming year.
Besides an increase of the sales of new cars, the company plans to increase the sales through the Trade-in program. In 2020, the sales of such cars are expected to grow by 64% – up to 6,000 units. Astana Motors plans to produce over 700 commercial vehicles in 2020.
Last year the company continued to develop the Hyundai dealership network in such cities as Atyrau, Ust-Kamenogorsk, and Tashkent. In 2020, the company plans to open the Hyundai dealership centers in Karaganda and also launch more dealership centers of this brand in Almaty and Tashkent.