07 November 2024 | 16:09

Experts discuss whether Kazakhstan needs its own car brand

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Tengrinews.kz - The creation of Kazakhstan's own car brand is an ambitious yet complex idea. This has been mentioned many times by various car manufacturers. What do auto experts think about it? Tengrinews.kz explores their views.

Tengrinews.kz - The creation of Kazakhstan's own car brand is an ambitious yet complex idea. This has been mentioned many times by various car manufacturers. What do auto experts think about it? Tengrinews.kz explores their views.

We posed this question to automotive industry specialists, whose opinions were divided. However, all experts agreed on one point: a national car requires substantial resources and a well-thought-out approach.

An ambitious attempt, but with many nuances

Auto journalist Alexey Alekseev reminded that Kazakhstan has twice attempted to create its own car: the "Tulpar" in the 1990s remained a prototype, while the "Nomad" project, essentially a South Korean car under a Kazakhstani brand, failed despite significant investments. Recently, a well-known entrepreneur stated that Kazakh cars should be unique and independent of Chinese models, but Alexey questions how feasible this is.

"Smagulov stated that a Chinese car will not be the basis, but the question remains: which one should be used then? That is, first of all, making the car itself is not as challenging as making the engine and transmission. Even if we borrow these components and combine them with our production, we’ll still end up with something Chinese-Korean," he noted.

Comparing the situation with other examples, Alekseev argues that the path to a national brand lies through stages of global assembly and gradually increasing local production. South Korea, China, and even Russia have taken this route, protecting their markets with tariffs and establishing local assembly.

"Despite all the difficulties, creating a Kazakh brand could instill national pride and become essential for the development of the country's industry. But without serious investment and significant success, it will be hard to achieve," Alekseev concluded.

Auto expert Yevgeny Kubekov believes that creating a domestic car is a goal worth pursuing, but not for vanity or pride; it’s primarily to gain experience.

“It’s a step-by-step process: as localization deepens, adapted versions become possible, which fosters the development of design and engineering skills that are only just starting to take shape here,” Kubekov noted.

Well-known auto blogger Diyas Valikhan is more skeptical, considering the creation of a Kazakhstani car brand a utopia, especially in today's realities.

"The largest car manufacturers started with small-scale production of inexpensive cars in conditions of low competition and limited local resources. Today, however, developing and manufacturing cars from scratch requires enormous investments that can only be justified by large sales volumes. Given the presence of Chinese and Russian manufacturers producing cars in large quantities, the Kazakh automotive industry will not be able to compete," Valikhan believes.

According to Valikhan, Kazakhstan faces several challenges: a lack of engineering personnel, a shortage of strong industrial bases, a small domestic market, and insufficient purchasing power for large-scale sales.

"For a plant to recoup its investments, it is necessary to produce and sell hundreds of thousands of cars annually, and this requires far greater resources and markets," the expert explains.

In his view, this will lead to endlessly rising costs that Kazakhstan will not be able to sustain.

Kazakhstan could follow the path of developing assembly capacities and attracting foreign manufacturers or embark on a more ambitious project. Such a step could boost national pride and strengthen industrial independence, but it carries risks of failure.

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