The Interior Ministry has posted for discussion the Cabinet of Ministers’ draft resolution which has proposed to ban the operation and re-registration of vehicles manufactured 50 years or more ago in Uzbekistan starting January 1, 2026.
Such vehicles will be deregistered with the exception of retro vehicles.
Reportedly, by 2025, more than 5.2 million vehicles will be registered in the country, 87,600 of which are manufactured more than half a century ago.
According to the Interior Ministry, such vehicles do not meet safety and environmental standards (Euro 4 and Euro 5), emit 30% more harmful emissions, and are often used in violation of regulations—139 cases of illegal use of state registration plates have been identified recently alone.
67 road accidents involving vehicles over 50 years old occurred in Uzbekistan in 2024-2025, resulting in 23 fatalities.
To improve road safety and environmental protection, it is proposed to introduce a mechanism for vehicle fleet inventory and the gradual deregistration of vehicles over 50 years old.
If their continued use is necessary, such vehicles will be reclassified as retro vehicles and assigned a separate license plate and special registration and operation procedures.
The draft is also based on the directives from the minutes of the conference call meeting chaired by the President Mirziyoyev on July 9, 2025, which had discussed measures to improve road infrastructure, reduce traffic congestion, and enhance safety.
The document also cites the experience of other countries. Specifically, since 2009, the UAE has banned the registration of vehicles over 20 years old, while in Kazakhstan the service life of buses is limited to 12 years, and in Russia to 10 years.
The public consultation on the draft will run through October 11.
