The Georgian government has announced plans to ban the import of cars older than six years starting from spring 2026. The decision has sparked public debate, with some within ruling circles also questioning it.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze unexpectedly announced the decision on 12 February during a cabinet meeting. On the same day, the decree was adopted, setting 1 April as the date the new regulation will enter into force.
The decree applies to M1 category vehicles — passenger cars with no more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat.
According to the government, the new rules will not apply to electric vehicles. The regulation will also not apply to vehicles that are already registered in Georgia, those imported before 1 April, or those whose transport to Georgia began before 1 April.
‘The ban also does not apply to the import of vehicles if the importer does not register them in Georgia, as well as to re-exports, transit, and exports’, the Environment Ministry said.
Justifying the decision, Kobakhidze cited the growing number of vehicles in the country, stating that while 864,000 cars were registered in 2012, that figure has now exceeded two million. According to him, such an increase leads to traffic congestion and a deterioration of the environmental situation.
‘Accordingly, we believe that very important measures need to be taken here as well’, he said.
Alongside the decree, the government also prepared a corresponding draft law and submitted it to parliament.
Criticising the changes, a number of commentators pointed to the difficulties faced by many Georgians in purchasing newer cars, given socio-economic challenges. Concerns were also raised that the tightened rules would not necessarily reduce the number of old vehicles, but instead push drivers to switch to relatively better — yet still older — cars already available on the local market.
RFE/RL cited statistics showing that as of 2025, out of more than 1.9 million vehicles registered in Georgia, over 1.5 million were more than 10 years old.
‘However, for experts this does not mean that all of these vehicles are on the roads. According to various sources, over the years, only about half of registered vehicles managed to pass technical inspection; of those, more than 30% failed on their first attempt’, the outlet wrote.
Among the critics of the draft law were members of the political opposition, including Giorgi Urushadze of the For Georgia party. He described the change as ‘unjustified’ in a context where ‘there is no properly functioning public transport system and a large part of the population, due to social hardship, is deprived not only of the luxury of purchasing new cars, but is facing far more basic everyday problems’.
‘Not to mention that this initiative comes from the corrupt [Georgian] Dream, whose government and parliamentary members mostly travel in expensive, often high-class vehicles’, he wrote.
Not with this severity, but the regulation was also called into question by Dimitri Khundadze, a representative of People’s Power, which is a satellite party of the ruling Georgian Dream.
According to Khundadze, the decision is ‘devoid of any logic’ and ‘will neither ensure the renewal of the vehicle fleet nor improve the environmental situation’.
‘On the contrary, the existing old cars will remain in circulation even longer and, due to greater wear and age, will pollute the environment even more’, he stated, noting that ‘the regulation will create particular problems in the regions, where there is neither internal municipal nor intercity public transport’.
‘Such a situation will place a particularly heavy burden on middle and low-income citizens. Not to mention importers, whose activities, beyond generating income, create jobs for many families’, he said, adding that the decision should be reconsidered and that People’s Power was ready to take part in ‘consultations’.
Among those who shared Khundadze’s Facebook post were another member of People's Power, Tamar Chiburdzanidze, as well as Guram Abashidze of Georgian Dream, the deputy chair of the Kobuleti City Council.
Under the legislation currently in force, adopted in 2024, the import of cars older than 2013 was prohibited in Georgia.
