AZE.US
Chinese-made cars entered Azerbaijan’s auto market at a rapid pace, but sales have recently started to slow as interest weakens and prices begin to fall.
Market participants say one of the main reasons is the expiration of tax incentives that had supported demand for hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Dealers now describe a market with too many cars and too few buyers, a combination that has pushed sales lower and added volatility to pricing.
Some sellers have already started cutting prices after failing to move inventory quickly. That has encouraged many buyers to wait on the sidelines in the hope that prices will fall further.
Transport expert Eyyub Aliyev said the slowdown also reflects heavy import volumes built up before the incentives expired. In his view, the market is now dealing with oversupply, which is putting direct pressure on prices.
According to Aliyev, investors had previously been able to recover their money and make a profit within 10 to 15 days, but demand weakened after January, creating concern among traders. As a result, some have started selling vehicles with little or no profit in order to pull their money back out of the market.
Official figures point to the same shift. According to the State Statistics Committee, Azerbaijan imported 431 hybrid vehicles and 4,565 plug-in hybrid vehicles from China in January-February 2026.
In the same period of 2025, the country imported 993 hybrid vehicles and 4,329 plug-in hybrid vehicles from China.
That means hybrid imports fell by 2.3 times year on year, while plug-in hybrid imports rose by 5.5%.
The numbers suggest that while Chinese plug-in hybrid models continue to enter the market in large volumes, overall buyer appetite has become less predictable. With supply still high and prices softening, sellers are under growing pressure, while buyers appear increasingly willing to wait for better deals.
AZE.US