Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Global crises with semiconductors and logistics, as well as the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe, have tangibly affected the global automotive industry, which significantly affected both production volumes and the cost of cars and their waiting times. In the U.S., the average cost of cars in the country was a record US$45,844 in June, up 14.5% from last year, according to a report by auto industry analysts JD Power and LMC Automotive. The increase in prices also affected the Russian market - in 2022, the cost of cars increased by an average of 30-40%.

The impact of global cataclysms was also a decrease in the volume of produced cars: due to the lack of microchips, car production in the UK fell by 41%, and global automotive leader Honda Motor said that due to ongoing problems with the supply chain and logistics, it will reduce production planned in 2022 in Japan by 30%.

The same trend is observed in the countries of the European Union. Thus, according to the report of the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers, the registration of new passenger cars in the EU continued its decline and decreased by 14% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 4.6 million cars.

On a seasonally adjusted annual basis, total US new car sales were 13.1 million units in June, down 2.3 million units from last year.

Global car sales are expected to remain flat at 81.4 million units this year as chip shortages and China’s lockdown hit sales volumes.

In terms of vehicle waiting times, Hyundai Motor and Kia paid for but not delivered cars in South Korea in March this year to a total of more than 1 million vehicles with a waiting time of up to 18 months. Some versions of the Toyota Tundra are also expected to be delivered to the US over the same period. And the waiting period for the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 in the Japanese market is still 4 years.

"UzAuto Motors JSC produced 160,000 cars in the first six months of this year and, responding to the wishes of consumers, launched the production of new models. Due to increased demand among consumers for more modern cars, UzAuto Motors is gradually transferring production capacities to release of new models," the statement of UzAuto Motors says.

As part of the renewal of the model range and increase in production volume, during negotiations with representatives of General Motors in Detroit, an agreement was reached on a significant increase in the production capacity of the UzAuto Motors plant. Also, along with the Chevrolet Tracker and Onix, work is underway to expand the lineup with modern models of Chevrolet cars and update (facelift) those already in production.

So, in July, the industrial production of the Chevrolet Tracker was already launched, and a week later, as part of the PPV (pre-production) batch, the first Chevrolet Onix was produced, the introduction of which into industrial production is scheduled for early 2023.

In connection with the transfer of UzAuto Motors conveyors to the production of new models, the production of Chevrolet Spark and Nexia cars will be stopped by the end of 2022. The remnants of the available components allow the company to continue during 2022 the production of the last batches of these models in various trim levels and in limited quantities. Chevrolet Spark and Nexia produced in this way go on sale from today.

Also, given the increased demand for UzAuto Motors cars in Uzbekistan, the company decided to redirect part of the export volumes of Chevrolet Spark and Nexia cars to the domestic market.

Export equipment includes a number of additional options, including an engine with a Euro 5 catalyst, the ERA-GLONASS system, a two-tone body color and some others. Depending on the configuration, the equipment of the cars going on sale will include a reinforced engine, crankcase protection, leather steering wheel upholstery, tinted rear window, additional speakers, side airbags and a manual transmission.