In brief
Located strategically in the South Caucasus, Georgia has become a crucial center for the export of used cars, particularly those sourced from the United States. Many of these vehicles, often written off in the U.S. due to damage, are repaired in Georgia before being sold. While exports to Russia are officially halted due to sanctions, a significant number of cars appear to be reaching Russia through neighboring countries.
Georgia, a growing hub in the international used car market, exports billions of dollars' worth of vehicles annually, primarily to post-Soviet nations in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Based in Rustavi, just outside Tbilisi, companies like Caucasus Auto Import (CAI) import tarnished cars from U.S. auctions, rehabilitating them affordably due to low costs of labor. Despite official restrictions on car exports to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, numbers suggest a significant volume of cars ultimately finds its way to Russia through Kazakhstan and other customs union members. Georgia's advantageous geographical position and efficient labor make it an ideal site for reviving these vehicles, with a booming demand especially for hybrid models. Meanwhile, Georgian officialdom denies complicity in bypassing sanctions, maintaining that trade with Russia ceased at the outset of the Ukraine conflict.
