Expert: car prices in Azerbaijan may rise by 3-5% — what the Prayk catalogue shows
The most common question among car buyers is a simple one: should I wait for prices to fall? This week an expert assessment of the market was published, and the answer runs against expectations. Vugar Oruj, chairman of the Azerbaijan Society of Appraisers (ASA), told BAKU.WS that car prices may rise by roughly 3-5% in the near term. The comment was published on navigator.az on 5 September 2026.
What the expert says
In the chairman's words: «It is not yet possible to speak of an overall price drop in the car market. Prices do fall in individual listings and on individual cars, but that is not the general trend of the market. On the contrary, price growth looks more pronounced, especially on new vehicles». According to him, new cars — including hybrid and electric models — are being offered at higher prices than in the previous period.
Two main drivers of the increase
- The end of certain exemptions. A number of concessions stopped applying from 2026, and that feeds straight into the final price.
- Shipping times and logistics costs. The expert notes that bringing a car in from the United States, South Korea and other countries used to take around two months; now the same journey stretches in some cases to three or four, and even five months. Longer transit raises freight and related costs, and with them the final sale price.
The used market looks different
Cheaper cars have not disappeared: prices of older, high-mileage used vehicles are indeed easing. The expert gives two reasons — more new cars are arriving on the market, and demand for used cars is not as strong as it was. But reading that as a general price decline would be wrong, in his assessment: «In the current situation the upward trend outweighs the downward one».
Among the factors shaping prices, the ASA chairman lists the purchasing power of the manat, the general economic situation, and import and logistics costs. Even so, he says, owning a car in Azerbaijan remains relatively more affordable than in some neighbouring countries — Türkiye, for example — in terms of taxes and additional payments. By the end of the year, as new cars arrive, competition may bring adjustments on individual models.
What the Prayk catalogue shows
Let us put our own numbers next to the expert assessment. As of 12 September 2026, the Cars section on Prayk holds 21,988 published listings. The median asking price is 13,600 AZN — half the listings are cheaper than that, half are dearer (calculated across 21,804 listings in the 1,000-500,000 AZN range).
The expert's point that the increase is sharpest on new, hybrid and electric models also shows up in our fuel-type split. Across the 17,892 listings that state a fuel type, average asking prices are:
- Petrol — 13,001 listings, 19,400 AZN on average.
- Diesel — 3,051 listings, 22,300 AZN on average.
- Hybrid — 1,003 listings, 29,700 AZN on average.
- Plug-in hybrid — 726 listings, 45,300 AZN on average.
- Electric — 105 listings, 46,600 AZN on average.
In other words, roughly one in ten listings with a stated fuel type is a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric car, and the average asking price in that segment is 1.5-2.4 times higher than for petrol cars. One caveat matters: these are asking prices, not closed deals — the actual sale usually lands a little lower. We are not yet measuring a short-term trend from our own history: the daily archive of our price statistics is young, and our catalogue coverage grew quickly over the same period, so such a figure would reflect our own growth rather than the market. Once coverage settles, we will publish the dynamics too.
What this means for buyers
- Do not judge a price by eye. The Market prices section shows the real asking range by make and model, and the «What is it worth?» calculator computes the market range for a specific car right away.
- Do not hunt for a bargain — let it find you. The green «Bargain» badge on listing cards automatically flags offers priced at least 10% below the median of similar ones (we explained the calculation here).
- Going hybrid? Budget higher. The figures above show the entry point in that segment is markedly above petrol cars.
- Selling? There is no need to rush. The upward trend does not extend to older, high-mileage cars — in that segment a correctly set price is what shortens the time to sale.
Source: navigator.az (comment by ASA chairman Vugar Oruj to BAKU.WS, 5 September 2026). The Prayk figures are a snapshot of our own catalogue on 12 September 2026.