Automotive Industry - The Times Of Central Asia

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Electric Vehicles

Proton Plans to Launch Electric Vehicle Production in Kazakhstan

Malaysian automotive manufacturer Proton Holdings Berhad is exploring the possibility of launching electric vehicle (EV) production in Kazakhstan. The announcement followed a meeting between Proton representatives and Yersayin Nagaspayev, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Industry and Construction. Proton, Malaysia’s largest automotive group, began operations in 1985 by producing cars under license from Mitsubishi. Since the late 1990s, the company has developed its own models, including the e.MAS line of electric vehicles, which it now proposes to localize in Kazakhstan. “The company presented plans to produce electric cars under the e.MAS brand. Discussions focused on potential production sites, export opportunities, and ensuring compliance with the technical and environmental standards of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU),” the Ministry of Industry and Construction reported. Following the meeting, the parties agreed to establish a joint working group tasked with developing a roadmap for localizing production and launching joint investment projects. Kazakhstan’s Growing Automotive Sector Minister Nagaspayev highlighted that more than 134,000 passenger cars were produced in Kazakhstan in 2024. Major international brands, including KIA, Hyundai, Chevrolet, JAC, and Jetour, are already manufacturing in the country. In 2025, two new automotive plants are scheduled to open in Almaty and Kostanay, with a combined annual capacity of up to 190,000 vehicles. The EV segment is currently the fastest-growing portion of the Kazakh automotive market. According to the Association of the Automobile Industry of Kazakhstan (AKAB), the number of registered electric vehicles grew from about 1,500 in early 2023 to 3,200 by the end of that year. As of May 2025, that figure has surged to 9,400. This rapid growth is attributed in part to a government policy introduced in 2023 that exempts citizens from import duties and taxes on one electric vehicle per person, valid through the end of 2025. Analysts also cite rising oil prices and the expansion of EV charging infrastructure as key drivers of demand. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan is on track to produce approximately 150,000 vehicles in 2025, a record for the country.

Automotive Industry

Kazakhstan’s Automotive Industry to Produce Nearly 150,000 Vehicles in 2025

Kazakhstan's automotive industry is projected to manufacture approximately 149,000 vehicles in 2025, according to government forecasts. This figure represents a 5% increase over 2024, when the country produced 134,000 vehicles. "This year, the automotive industry is expected to increase domestic car production to 149,000 units, or 5% more than in 2024," the government stated. The growth is being driven by several new car assembly projects initiated in 2025, including the construction of the Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan multi-brand plant in Almaty. Located in Kazakhstan’s largest city, the Almaty facility will begin assembling Chinese automotive brands such as Chery, Haval, and Changan. The project has attracted investments totaling KZT 202 billion (approximately USD 397.3 million) and is expected to produce up to 120,000 cars annually while creating more than 3,600 jobs. The development is also expected to stimulate related industries, particularly in auto parts manufacturing. Meanwhile, in Kostanay, the construction of a new KIA Kazakhstan plant is underway. With a projected capacity of 70,000 vehicles per year, the project has received KZT 90 billion (USD 177 million) in investment and will employ around 1,500 workers. According to the Kazakhstan Automobile Union, 33,100 new vehicles were produced nationwide in the first quarter of 2025. Of these, 18,000 were assembled in Kostanay, 12,900 in Almaty, and the remainder in Semey, the Karaganda Region, Kokshetau, and other locations. In a sign of the sector’s vertical development, the Almaty Autoparts Production enterprise has commenced operations in the city’s industrial zone. It will manufacture up to 100,000 car seat sets annually for Hyundai vehicles. The government's report underscores the role of state policy in advancing Kazakhstan’s machine-building industry, particularly through the formation of investment clusters. “Of the 17 major projects that form the industrial backbone of the economy, nine are overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Construction,” the report noted. The government’s focus on investment and localization is bearing fruit. In 2023, KZT 115 billion (USD 226 million) was invested in machine building, a figure that more than doubled in 2024 to KZT 282 billion (USD 554 million). Currently, over 4,000 enterprises are active in Kazakhstan’s machine-building sector. These include 66 large companies, 105 medium-sized firms, and 3,998 small businesses. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, the country set a new record for new car sales in 2024.

Automobile Industry

Car Multimedia System Plant Launched in Almaty

The opening ceremony of the Kazakhstan Mobility Engineering Plant took place on October 30 in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. The new production facility is part of Astana Motors, Kazakhstan’s major automobile distribution and manufacturing company. In April last year, Astana Motors signed a memorandum of cooperation with South Korea’s Motrex Co Ltd., receiving the right to produce multimedia devices in Kazakhstan using the Korean partner's technology. The plant was launched in September 2024, and the first batch of its audio and video multimedia systems has already been delivered to the Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan plant for installation on Tucson and Elantra cars. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan, Kanat Sharlapayev, emphasized that multimedia systems are high-precision production requiring first-class specialists' competencies in digital technologies. “Our key goal is to create a production cycle with a high share of [production] localization [inside Kazakhstan]. And we will make maximum use of domestic raw materials and components. That is why Kazakhstan Mobility Engineering is important for the country.” Motrex CEO Junseon Kim also stressed the importance of local production: "Our goal is to closely cooperate with our partners to increase local production of components and leadership in the assembly of multimedia devices. The partnership will allow us to respond quickly to local needs, create jobs, and support Kazakhstan's economic growth." The Kazakhstan Mobility Engineering plant is part of the Astana Motors Engineering Technopark, constructed in the Industrial Zone of Almaty to produce automobile components. The technopark will also open a car seat manufacturing plant, a rubber and plastic products manufacturing plant, and a logistics hub. Its products will be supplied to the Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan plant and other automobile plants in Kazakhstan. Astana Motors has also signed a memorandum with Sanico Electronics, a South Korean manufacturer, to obtain the right to produce motherboards and cases for multimedia systems. In other news, Kazakhstan’s national company, Kazakh Invest, and KIA Qazaqstan discussed projects to produce original South Korean auto components for KIA cars in Kazakhstan. The parties considered cooperating with South Korean companies SJG Sejong and Seoyon E-Hwa, the original manufacturers of seats, bumpers, mufflers, and other components for KIA cars. Representatives of the companies expressed interest in implementing investment projects in Kazakhstan, emphasizing the strategic importance of localizing the production of automotive components in the country. A full-cycle plant to produce KIA cars is currently under construction in Kazakhstan’s Kostanay. The new plant will cost about $200 million and have a production capacity of 70,000 vehicles annually. This project is KIA's first direct investment in a joint venture to construct a plant outside Korea. At a government meeting on October 29, Minister of Industry and Construction Sharlapayev said that from January to September 2024, Kazakhstan produced more than 82,000 cars.

Automotive Industry

Kazakhstan to Start Producing Cars for Chinese Brand KAIYI

The Kazakh automotive company Orbis Manufacturing plans to build a full-cycle plant in Almaty's industrial zone to manufacture cars under the Chinese brand KAIYI. According to Orbis's press service, a subsidiary of Orbis Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of cooperation with China's Yibin Kaiyi Automobile Co. at the second Forum of Kazakh Exporters in Astana. "We plan to invest about 72 billion tenge (~$160 million) in organizing the production of high-tech cars of leading Chinese brands," commented the president of Orbis Kazakhstan, Sukhrab Mahmudov. Orbis Kazakhstan emphasized that design and estimate documentation (DED) for the production line is currently being finalized. The plant's production capacity is planned at 80,00 vehicles per year. It will initially create 1,500 jobs. In May 2023 Orbis Kazakhstan signed an agreement with EXEED International, a premium brand of the Chinese automaker Chery, on the production of cars under the EXEED brand in Kazakhstan.

Kyrgyzstan China Automotive Industry

Chinese Company to Build an Automobile Plant in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov attended a ceremony on February 28th to launch the construction of an automotive assembly plant in the country’s northern Chui region. The plant which will have the capacity to produce over 80,000 vehicles -electric, domestic, and commercial – is due to open in August this year. A joint venture between the Kyrgyz government, local enterprises, and the China Hubei Zhuoyue Group, the first stage of the project has attracted investment of $115 million. In his speech, President Japarov expressed the government’s confidence that the project will provide significant impetus to the development of the automotive industry in Kyrgyzstan and in turn, the creation of new jobs. The Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Du Dewen attributed the instigation of the project to a strategic partnership between the two countries. Thanking the Kyrgyz president for his personal attention and support, she expressed her hope that this project will exemplify a deepening interaction between Kyrgyzstan and China.

Automotive Industry

Astana Motors To Build New Plant In Almaty

On January 25th Kazakhstan's president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received the founder of Astana Motors, Nurlan Smagulov, who informed him about his company’s plans for the automotive industry in Kazakhstan, the president’s press office reported. Mr Smagulov reported that in 2023 Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan and Hyundai Trans Almaty, subsidiaries of Astana Motors, manufactured 48,857 passenger cars and 981 commercial vehicles. Mr Smagulov told the president that the construction of the Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan multi-brand plant in Almaty, for the production of China’s Chery, GWM (Haval), and Changan vehicles, is scheduled to be completed in February 2025. The plant's capacity will be 90,000 vehicles per year. Of these, 60% will go for export. In September 2022 Astana Motors signed memoranda with Chinese automobile concerns Chery Automobile Company, Changan International Corporation, and Great Wall Motor, allowing it to manufacture these companies' cars in Kazakhstan.