Japanese Auction Websites Closed: Car Buyers Face New Challenges

The newspaper 'Zhoghovurd' reports that in recent years, the majority of citizens in Armenia have actively imported cars from Japan's secondary market. As is well known, these vehicles are primarily acquired through auctions, after which they are transported to Armenia. This process typically takes 2-3 months; however, in recent days, citizens utilizing Japanese auctions have found themselves in an uncomfortable situation.

The daily has learned that the personal pages of most importers (who have been using Japanese auctions for several years) were closed a few days ago. This means that for three days, car importers have been unable to participate in Japanese auctions. Only a few companies are still managing to take part, and it is unclear for how long.

This information was also confirmed in a conversation with Tigran Hovhannisyan, the president of the League of Drivers’ Protection. 'It's a new situation. The Japanese auction websites are closed to us; the guys are unable to engage in trade relationships. Since the dealers of Japanese auctions do not guarantee that they can transport the cars to Armenia within five or six months, they might not even make it by the new year,' Tigran Hovhannisyan informed.

According to experts, the reason for the current situation is the anticipated increase in customs duties for new cars, effective from January 1, 2020.