Sticker Shock in Cuba

Via the BBC:  Cubans shocked at prices as foreign cars go on sale

Cubans have reacted with shock after foreign-made cars went on sale for the first time since the 1959 revolution at what some termed "crazy" prices.

The state has a monopoly on new car sales and has set massive mark-ups.

A Peugeot 508 is listed at $262,000. Peugeot’s UK website puts prices from $29,000. State salaries in Cuba average about $20 a month.

Freeing up car sales is the latest in a series of reforms. A permit to buy new vehicles is now no longer required.

“Crazy” indeed.

Nonetheless, some Cubans do appear to have money to spend.

An attendant at one car store in Havana told the BBC it had sold six vehicles by 14:00 on Friday. He said the most expensive went for $50,000.

Until new regulations in 2011, people could only sell cars built before the 1959 revolution.

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. OzarkHillbilly says:

    An attendant at one car store in Havana told the BBC it had sold six vehicles by 14:00 on Friday.

    So Raul and his family are taken care of. What are the rest of the Castros going to drive?

  2. al-Ameda says:

    A Peugeot 508 is listed at $262,000. Peugeot’s UK website puts prices from $29,000. State salaries in Cuba average about $20 a month.

    This is not a problem at all. Provide buyers with variable rate loans, with no payment due for 10 years. There you go, it’s worked in America, it can work in Cuba.

  3. John425 says:

    Castro regime: “if you want to keep your $29,000 Peugeot, you can keep your $29,000 Peugeot. (Not).”