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The Economist-Asia | Motoring in central Asia: Welcome to Chevroletstan

02 全文梳理 

03 原文阅读 546words

Motoring in central Asia: Welcome to Chevroletstan

China is breaking into one of the world's weirdest car markets

TRAVELLERS once crossed Central Asia by camel. Nowadays visitors to Uzbekistan notice that American workhorses own the steppe. Cars bearing the badge of Chevrolet, an American brand, are so ubiquitous that locals jokingly call the country "Chevroletstan". Outside the airport in Tashkent, the capital, a line of Chevy Cobalts assembles. Order a cab on MyTaxi, Uzbekistan's answer to Uber, and it can be hard to tell which is yours.

Of the 430,000 cars sold in Uzbekistan last year, 83% were Chevys. The Cobalt, a saloon car, made up nearly a third; on desert motorways it is unusual to spot anything else. Between small towns it is the Damas (pictured), a loaf-shaped minivan, that is everywhere. It accounts for a quarter of sales. It is a Chevy, too.

Such homogeneity is the result of industrial policy. In 1992 Islam Karimov decided to build a car industry. The state partnered with Daewoo, a South Korean firm. After Daewoo went bust following the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, General Motors, Chevrolet's owner, stepped in. Karimov protected his Chevys with levies. Tariffs on cars were 100% or higher. GM sold its stake in the partnership in 2019 but a deal permits UzAuto Motors, a state company, to keep making the cars.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who succeeded Karimov after his death in 2016, is less dirigiste than his predecessor. While tariffs on most imported cars remain high, he has cut levies on electric vehicles (EVs), in part to reduce pollution. In 2024 5% of cars sold in Uzbekistan were EVs, up from almost none in 2022. Some 90% of these were Chinese.

Mr Mirziyoyev retains a soft spot for the government's adopted champion. Last year he ordered his ministers to swap their Mercedes-Benz cars for Chevys. But the president has also schmoozed Chinese carmakers. In 2024 BYD opened a factory in Jizzakh, the region of his birth. The company gave Mr Mirziyoyev a luxury SUV.

Shiny Chinese EVs are thus becoming more common on Tashkent's roads. Locals' lungs will benefit: in 2024 the city's air quality was six times worse than the level the World Health Organisation deems safe. Uzbeks who have had to join waiting lists to get a locally built Chevy will also welcome more choice. Outside the city, where charging points are scarce, Chevys still prevail. But BYD is making inroads in Chevroletstan—one steppe at a time. ■