From an Idea to an Industry
This year, we are celebrating not only the 35th anniversary of our country’s independence, but also 30 years since the first automobile rolled off the production line at the UzAuto Motors plant in Asaka. For the people of Uzbekistan, this was a landmark event. A young republic that was only beginning to find its footing had embarked on the ambitious goal of establishing its own automotive industry.
Yes, there were challenging periods for the new company and for the automotive industry as a whole. However, it was UzAuto Motors that we consider the foundation upon which an entire industry is developing today. Thanks to one bold idea and the people who stood at the origins of this project, Uzbekistan now has modern automotive manufacturing, is developing related industries and is building a unique pool of world-class automotive specialists. Of course, the country’s automotive landscape looks completely different today than it did 10 years ago. In 2016, 93,000 passenger cars were produced in Uzbekistan. By 2025, this figure had grown to 460,000. The development of the automotive industry always has a multiplier effect. In Uzbekistan, every job created in the automotive industry generates up to 10 additional jobs in related sectors of the economy.
A New Era
The key factor behind these qualitative changes has been the liberalization of the economy, made possible by the policy of openness set by the President of Uzbekistan. We began our operations in 2014, when there was only one player in the automotive industry and the sector was closed to investment. Today, we are not simply witnessing the emergence of a different economy – together, we are all creating a new Uzbekistan.
ADM Jizzakh, as the first automotive plant in the country established through private investment, is a symbol of this new chapter in Uzbekistan’s automotive history. When we first began working on the ADM Jizzakh project, no one believed that it was possible to establish a privately funded automobile plant in Uzbekistan. Today, the results of the enterprise are a direct answer to all the skeptics. ADM Jizzakh is not simply a factory. It is one of the driving forces behind the development of the entire industry and the core of a new industrial cluster taking shape in the Jizzakh region. Two years ago, the plant transitioned to a full production cycle (CKD), while total investment in the project has already exceeded $400 million. In 2025, the plant produced more than 45,000 vehicles. Our target for this year is 60,000 vehicles, and we are confidently moving toward it. By 2030, the company plans to reach an annual production capacity of more than 120,000 vehicles. One of the key indicators of our performance is the growing level of localization. We started with large-scale assembly, while today the localization rate has exceeded 40%, and we currently manufacture more than 700 components in Uzbekistan. Localization is a global trend that will only continue to strengthen. For major automotive brands, it is more advantageous to establish production in promising markets than to organize logistics to those markets, with all the associated payments, taxes and customs duties. In the near future, we will launch a stamping shop. This will mark an important milestone in the history of the enterprise, as the production of body panels is one of the most complex stages in automobile manufacturing. It will therefore represent a new level of production localization.
Made in Uzbekistan
Our main goal is to create our own national automotive brand. This is not some kind of flashy PR move or an attempt to stand out from the competition. It reflects the level of development that our company has reached today. Growing localization, expertise accumulated over the years and our technological base allow us to set more ambitious goals. To achieve these objectives, we are already developing a new generation of engineers. Without investment in people and modern R&D, projects of this scale cannot be realized. Today, ADM Jizzakh cooperates with 24 universities across Uzbekistan. Together with New Uzbekistan University, we hold the International Business Case Competition, which received around 1,200 applications from Uzbekistan, the United States, Germany, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and China. We have established a Research and Development (R&D) Center and opened automotive engineering schools at Tashkent State Transport University and InnoTechnoPark. Over the next several years, we plan to invest approximately $100 million in training engineers, designers, testing specialists and developers. All these goals and objectives are now part of the broader national strategy, “Uzbekistan–2030.” The strategy envisages increasing automobile production to 1 million vehicles per year and placing the republic among the world’s top 15 automotive producers.
Uzbekistan today has everything necessary to achieve this goal: a developing market and growing population, combined with the country’s manufacturing potential, technological progress and ability to attract investment. These factors can help achieve the objectives that have been set and transform the automotive industry into a dynamic and investment-attractive sector of the national economy.