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After the Cuban government lifted the ban on buying automobiles built after 1959, the results of this action are borderline shameful - a mere 50 cars and just 4 motorbikes have been purchased between January and June 2014 in a country that numbered 11.1 million residents at the 2012 census.
Although the ban lift is a great step forward towards a free car market, brand new cars available for purchase are still sold via state-run dealerships. Cubadebate informs that those 54 cars and bikes moved have a cumulated value of $1.3 million. That boils down to $24,000 per vehicle, which is Ford Fusion SE money.
Props to Raul Castro and his government buddies for the move, but there's still a catch to this story. The law that took effect in January 2014 hiked the price of new vehicles by at least 400 percent compared to their normal sticker price. To put that into perspective, a Peugeot 508 sedan would set you back a prohibitive $260,000 in the Republic of Cuba.
It seems like good ol' capitalism is accessible for each member of the population… that has a six figure income. Considering that most Cubans make less than 20 bucks per month, just how many years would it take an average Joe to amass $260k for a base Peugeot 508? Some 1,083 years without any other expenses is the answer.
The automotive future of Cuba is blurry to say the least. The desultory law won't actually rejuvenate Cuba's motorized populace, but actually hike the appeal of second-hand pre-1959 American rust buckets and Lada Rivas.
Props to Raul Castro and his government buddies for the move, but there's still a catch to this story. The law that took effect in January 2014 hiked the price of new vehicles by at least 400 percent compared to their normal sticker price. To put that into perspective, a Peugeot 508 sedan would set you back a prohibitive $260,000 in the Republic of Cuba.
It seems like good ol' capitalism is accessible for each member of the population… that has a six figure income. Considering that most Cubans make less than 20 bucks per month, just how many years would it take an average Joe to amass $260k for a base Peugeot 508? Some 1,083 years without any other expenses is the answer.
The automotive future of Cuba is blurry to say the least. The desultory law won't actually rejuvenate Cuba's motorized populace, but actually hike the appeal of second-hand pre-1959 American rust buckets and Lada Rivas.
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