Five months beat any full year
On 12 August 2026 the analytical portal EnergyProm published a review of Kazakhstan's truck market, and its figures are unusual even for a growing market. In January–May 2026, 56,600 trucks were sold domestically, 5.3 times as many as a year earlier. According to the analysts, in just five months sales already exceeded those of any full year since records began. The review covers trucks as a whole, with no breakdown by type, so dump trucks, tractor units and chassis for special equipment are not shown separately.
The previous peak came in 2023, when 35,800 vehicles were sold in the country. In 2024 the market shrank to 28,200, and in 2025 it grew 7.8% to 30,400 units. On the day of publication the same review was reported by Kapital.kz, 24KZ and Lada.kz, and the figures in these reports match.
Growth came almost entirely from imports
The review's main conclusion is that the market's expansion rests on imports. "This year's sharp expansion of the market was almost entirely driven by imports," the EnergyProm piece says. Key figures for January–May 2026:
- Imports: 54,400 trucks, 6.5 times as many as a year earlier. For comparison, 22,700 vehicles were imported in the whole of 2025.
- Local production: 2,400 units against 2,800 a year earlier, a decline of 13.1%.
- Share of domestic plants in meeting demand (domestic sales plus exports): 4.2% against 24.9% a year earlier.
- Exports: 255 vehicles, 39.6% below last year's level. In the whole of 2025, 841 vehicles went abroad.
The review does not explain the reasons for the import surge: the analysts give no countries of origin, brands or prices for the imported vehicles. Nor do these data show how many of them are new and how many are used.
First-half output falls for the third year running
Against this wave of imports, domestic assembly is losing ground. According to EnergyProm, 3,400 trucks were produced in Kazakhstan in the first half of 2026, 1.3% fewer than a year earlier. First-half output has now been falling for three years: plants produced 4,700 vehicles in the first half of 2023, 3,600 in 2024 and 3,500 in 2025. Over the whole of 2025, however, output rose 10.5% to 8,500.
More recent data from the Kazakhstan Automotive Union (KAU), cited by Kursiv, confirm the trend for trucks: 4,500 were produced in January–August 2026, 1.5% fewer than a year earlier, although August output rose 1.8% year on year. For special equipment the picture is the opposite: 614 units were produced over the eight months, 19.9% more than a year earlier. Bus output came to 1,719 (+8.5%), and trailers and semi-trailers to 2,350 (−0.3%).
The industry's overall growth is driven by passenger cars. According to preliminary KAU data published by Forbes Kazakhstan, the industry produced 146,541 vehicles in the first nine months of 2026, 34.2% more than a year earlier. Besides the large car plants, the list of manufacturers includes SemAZ (2,293 vehicles), QazTehna (2,014), KAMAZ-Engineering (804), Orbis Machinery (433) and Uralskagroremmash (158). The publication also reports that a plant to build Howo trucks is being prepared for launch in Saran together with SINOTRUK.
Trucks in households
EnergyProm supplements the market figures with data from a sample survey of 12,000 household budgets. In 2026, 3% of families own a truck, up from 1.8% a year earlier. That is the highest level in statistics kept since 2012, when the figure stood at 0.6%. The share is higher in villages, at 5.6%, than in towns, at 1.9%. The analysts suggest that in rural areas a truck is more often needed not just for getting about but also for the household farm and for business. The highest shares are in Mangystau (27.8% of households against 1.1% a year earlier), Zhetysu (24.5% against 9.2%) and Ulytau (11.8% against 0.7%) regions.
Tips for truck buyers
The review does not break the market down by vehicle type, but buyers of dump trucks, tractor units and flatbed trucks can still draw several practical conclusions from it:
- Before buying an imported vehicle, check whether the supplier has service and a parts warehouse in your region: rapid sales growth does not in itself mean that the service network is growing just as fast.
- Compare offers from importers and local plants not only on price but also on parts delivery times, warranty terms and the availability of trained mechanics.
- When calculating residual value, bear in mind that an unusually large number of vehicles was bought in 2026, and in a few years a sizeable share of them may reach the used market at the same time. This is our own assumption, not a forecast from the review.
- Keep an eye on updated statistics: the January–May data reflect only the first part of the year, and import dynamics in the second half may differ noticeably.
Sources
- EnergyProm, "Казахстанцы закупаются грузовиками: импорт вырос сразу в семь раз", 2026-08-12: https://energyprom.kz/articles-ru/industries-ru/kazahstanczy-zakupayutsya-gruzovikami-import-vyros-srazu-v-sem-raz/
- Kapital.kz, "Продажи грузовиков в Казахстане выросли в 5,3 раза", 2026-08-12: https://kapital.kz/economic/151565/prodazhi-gruzovikov-v-kazahstane-vyrosli-v-53-raza.html
- 24KZ, "Продажи грузовиков в Казахстане выросли в 5 раз: что происходит на рынке", 2026-08-12: https://24.kz/ru/news/economyc/785301-prodazhi-gruzovikov-v-kazakhstane-vyrosli-v-5-raz-chto-proiskhodit-na-rynke
- Lada.kz, "Казахстанцы скупают грузовики: за пять месяцев побит рекорд продаж", 2026-08-12: https://www.lada.kz/kazakhstan-news/156686-kazakhstantsy-skupaiut-gruzoviki-za-piat-mesiatsev-pobit-rekord-prodazh.html
- Kursiv, "Казахстанский автопром вырос на 31%: что производили", 2026-09-22: https://kz.kursiv.media/2026-09-22/rmnm-kazakhstanskiy-avtoprom-narastil-vypusk-na-31-chto-proizvodili/
- Forbes Kazakhstan, "Казахстанский автопром вырос на 34% за девять месяцев 2026 года", 2026-10-08: https://forbes.kz/articles/kazahstanskiy-avtoprom-vyros-na-34-za-devyat-mesyatsev-2026-goda-d7e758
