Page 47 - GEORptOct19
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9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Georgia’s Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze on April 8 stated that a factory to produce electric vehicles will be built in Kutaisi. The plant will be developed in partnership with China’s Chang’an automaker, and will be used as an export platform for European market.
The capacity of the factory is going to be 40,000 cars per year, 50% of which will be intended for the domestic market and 20,000 will be exported to the EU. "This is a great success. Electric cars manufactured in Georgia will be the main export product on the European market from Georgia. We will make 4 models of electric cars, which will be affordable for all citizens of Georgia”, the PM said.
The country will be able to sell electric cars from 2020.
Kutaisi, a city in west Georgia, is one of the most interesting and beautiful cities in Georgia. It was the capital of Georgia in the middle ages. Kutaisi served as the legislative capital of the country in 2012-2018.
Chang'an is considered to be one of the "Big Four" Chinese automakers. With an output of 3 million units in 2016 it ranked fourth among China's automakers by production volume. The comp[any designs, develops, manufactures, and sells passenger cars under the Chang'an brand and commercial vehicles sold under the Chana brand. It operates joint ventures with Ford (Changan Ford), Groupe PSA (Changan PSA), Mazda (Changan Mazda) and Suzuki (Changan Suzuki) which produce foreign branded passenger cars for the Chinese market.
9.1.3 Transport sector news
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on September 9 announced a new tender within the framework of the Tbilisi Urban Transport Renewal Project, for the purchase of 110 buses to run on compressed natural gas.
According to the project, the contractor will supply 30 new buses to Tbilisi by March 31, 2020, and all other buses by September 30, 2020. The buses are 12m-long vehicles.
Bidding requirements mean the bidding company must have recorded a turnover of at least €30mn over the past three years. If the bidder is not a bus manufacturer but an auto dealer company, it must have delivered at least 600, 11-metre-long larger buses over the past three years.
In related news, on the same day the EBRD announced that Georgia is considering a loan from the development bank to boost its subway system in Tbilisi by purchasing 40 new metro cars, modernising a metro car depot and rehabilitating tunnels.
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) has become a fast land transport route which can bring Chinese goods to Europe in some 20 days, substantially faster than what can be achieved on the sea route, Xinhua on September 23 quoted Rafiq Abbasov, a professor with the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, as saying.
TITR connects China with Europe via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Currently, Azerbaijan is working with the countries along the route to cut tariffs and shorten custom clearance times to attract more international goods to the transit option.
Azerbaijan sees itself as a growing regional transport hub that meshes with
47 GEORGIA Country Report October 2019 www.intellinews.com
