Thousands Of Wrecked U.S. Cars End Up In Russia

The small South Caucasus nation of Georgia has become a multi-billion-dollar hub for the international used car market.

On the dusty outskirts of Rustavi lies a vast area of open-air car parks equivalent in size to more than 40 football pitches that hosts thousands of vehicles up for sale, including brands like Mercedes, Porsches, Jaguars, Toyotas, and, more recently, Teslas.

The vehicles are mostly sourced from the U.S., and many appear to be ending up in Russia, Rayhan Demytrie reported for BBC News.

On the dusty outskirts of Rustavi, an industrial town 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, lies a vast area of open-air car parks equivalent in size to more than 40 football pitches.

It hosts thousands of vehicles up for sale, including brands like Mercedes, Porsches, Jaguars, Toyotas, and, more recently, Teslas.

One of the largest car parks is owned by Caucasus Auto Import (CAI), a company that buys used cars from auctions in the U.S. These vehicles are often so badly damaged in accidents that they have been written off by American insurance firms.

CAI claims that its “team of experts” in the U.S. picks up the cars in person and arranges their export by container ship, traveling 10,000 km (6,000 miles) to a port on Georgia’s Black Sea coast.

The damaged cars are then repaired by Georgian mechanics. CAI, which originally dealt only with Soviet brands like Lada and Vaz, expanded its offerings to Western cars, both used and wrecked. The company employs 600 people, most of whom are mechanics.