TASHKENT (TCA) — French car manufacturer Groupe PSA and Uzbekistan’s state automobile company Uzavtosanoat have decided to jointly create an equally owned Joint Venture — Uzbekistan PCA, the companies said on May 16. This partnership aims at building a production plant in the Free Industrial Zone of Jizzakh, located 200 km from Tashkent, in Uzbekistan, to produce Peugeot and Citroën LCVs, for passenger and freight carriage. The Charter capital of the new JV will represent around 30 million euro, with equal shareholding. Global investments represent around 130 million euros.
Groupe PSA will provide new technologies, intellectual property, and contribute to the implementation of modern production processes and organization of training to employees. The plant will operate in accordance with the Group modern systems in production, quality, purchasing, supply and sales. The joint venture considers at least 50% of parts localization in the first year of production, by attracting domestic component parts manufacturers — 30 large factories owned by Uzavtosanoat and more than 160 small and medium enterprises.
The production capacity is estimated up to 16,000 vehicles per year, to be sold in Uzbekistan and exported to foreign countries.
With a population of over 32 million, there is a huge potential for further development of industrial production and growth of the automotive market in Uzbekistan.
“This LCV1 segment was the only non-occupied vehicle segment in Uzbekistan,” said Rustam Yusupov, Deputy Chairman of the board of Uzavtosanoat. “So this project is a significant qualitative leap in the development of the domestic automotive industry. And more globally, along with the increase of employment, this joint venture will positively contribute to the profitable growth of the Uzbekistan automotive industry.”
Christophe Bergerand, Eurasia Vice-President for Groupe PSA commented: “This project is fully in line with our Push to Pass plan and this is a great opportunity for Groupe PSA to develop our LCV business and profitable growth plan in the Region. We appreciate the established constructive dialogue with the Uzbek teams and personal support of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoev, which was a determining factor in the creation of the joint venture.”
