There is nothing Kazakh in Kazakhstan-made cars

There are no locally-made parts in Kazakhstan-made cars, KazTAG reports after its journalists have visited Almaty’s car retailers of the companies assembling Korean and Czech cars. In particular, there is not a single Kazakhstan-made part in Skoda made by BIPEK Auto, the car retailer said. According to him, Skoda cars come from Europe almost fully assembled. “The car’s body and interior come almost assembled and equipped. The only thing they do is connect the engine to the gear box,” he said. Another salesperson of the same retailer explained that this is the way for Kazakhstan-made Skoda to get around of the customs duties, taxes and even VAT. Consultants of AllurAuto also said that Kostanay-made SsangYong cars arrive from South Korea almost ready. Answering the question whether the plants at least paint the cars, the seller said that the body arrives ready to go as well. “They only connect the engine, while the car is fully assembled in Korea,” he said. Meanwhile, the advertisements of local assemblers state that their cars are “made in Kazakhstan”. KazTAG journalists did not find even batteries made locally, at Taldykorgan batteries plant, in particular. Asia Auto has been assembling foreign-made cars since 2003, while Agromashholding started assembling Korean cars in 2010.