PRODUCTION CAPACITY, LOCALISATION, AND DIVERSIFICATION PERFORMANCE IN UZBEKISTAN'S AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY: A COMPARATIVE ENTERPRISE-LEVEL ANALYSIS

This study evaluates production diversification and operational performance in Uzbekistan's automotive component industry using enterprise-level evidence from UzAuto-INZI LLC, UzSungWoo LLC JV, and Avtokomponent LLC for the period 2021–2025. The analysis incorporates indicators of production capacity, actual output, capacity utilisation, industrial output, net profit, exports, localisation depth, supplier breadth, product variety, automation, and digital management. In addition to the source indicators, the study calculates compound annual growth rates (CAGRs), capacity buffers, net-profit intensity, average localisation savings per localised component, and the largest-customer concentration ratio. The results indicate distinct diversification and operational-performance profiles across the three enterprises. UzSungWoo LLC JV combines the widest product portfolio (47 product types), the highest capacity utilisation in 2025 (93.3%), the highest localisation share (74%), and the broadest supplier network (42 suppliers). Its industrial output and net profit recorded compound annual growth rates of 18.0% and 24.0%, respectively. Avtokomponent LLC recorded the highest growth rates among the enterprises analysed, with industrial output and net profit CAGRs of 21.9% and 31.6%, respectively, accompanied by an increase in capacity utilisation from 53.3% to 84.4%. UzAuto-INZI LLC recorded the highest level of automation (88%); however, the enterprise also exhibited a comparatively higher degree of customer concentration and available production capacity. Its capacity buffer amounted to 550 thousand units in 2025, while industrial output decreased by 16.6% compared with 2024. The findings indicate that product variety alone may not be sufficient to ensure resilient production diversification. More sustainable operational performance is associated with the combined development of customer-portfolio diversification, localisation, supplier-network resilience, technological capability, and balanced capacity utilisation. The enterprise-level comparison therefore highlights the importance of considering diversification as a multidimensional process involving not only product variety but also market, supplier, technological, and production-capacity dimensions.