Cuba: Car purchase now legalized!

Picture by Teemu R. All rights reserved.

Historical date today in Cuba: until now only people who bought a car before the 1959 revolution or those who were granted the right to purchase one afterwards for personal or political achievements could actually own their vehicles. From October 1, every Cuban citizen can now purchase a car, and it is also now legal to own more than one vehicle!

Picture by Faw. All rights reserved.

This will have a massive impact on the country’s car landscape, currently dominated by the “yank tanks”, pre-1959 vintage Americans, and Ladas as seen in my Cuban article. Recently Hyundai had made inroads with its Accent, Santro and i10, mainly to rental car companies, as well as the Chinese: Great Wall for commercial vehicles and Geely with police cars. Seat, Peugeot and Skoda are also present among others.

Picture by Robin Thom. All rights reserved.

Now the market is wide open and will be fascinating to follow over the next couple of years, keeping in mind the average monthly salary in Cuba is 17 dollars. Let’s say the yank tanks still have a few good years ahead of them…

Source, more pictures and Cuba street videos below.