Auto business turnover has been recovering since 2016 following the contractionin 2014-15. The sector posted a 17.4% CAGR over 2016-18. Automobile sales havelargely supported this growth, posting a 19.9% CAGR over the same period. Automobilesales totaled GEL 1.7bn in 2018 thanks to increased re-exports and a shift to moreexpensive car sales on the domestic market.Auto business net profit margin averaged 5.1% in 2015-17 – in line with the totaltrade sector’s average of 5.2%. Despite large turnover, the auto business ischaracterized by low profitability. Some 97% of the sector’s revenue comes from salesof automobiles and parts; both of these have high cost of goods sold, which putspressure on their margins. Therefore, among the sub-sectors in the auto sector, autoservicing is the most profitable with an average operating profit margin of 23.1% in 2018followed by auto parts at 7% and auto sales at 4.5%.