Britain's car industry has insisted that an unprecedented 2,000% increase in vehicle exports to Azerbaijan has nothing to with Russia and is explained by the fact that the former Soviet state is a 'flourishing market in its own right'. Sky analysis has found that the British car sector sent another £40m worth of cars to Azerbaijan in the first month of this year, raising fresh questions about whether those cars were being sent there to circumvent sanctions on Russia.
'UK vehicle exports to Azerbaijan - as to many countries globally - have increased due to a number of factors, not least a flourishing economy, new model launches and pent-up demand,' it said. Azerbaijan's flatlining economy However, the notion that the exports were evidence of a flourishing economy stands in stark contrast to the economic data, which show that Azerbaijan's GDP per capita has been flat for a decade and a half at around $15,000 in purchasing power parity terms.