Cuba Full Year 2017: Lada Vesta imports should make it the #1 car

Thanks to one batch of imports, the Lada Vesta should be the best-selling car in Cuba for 2017.

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Even though the Cuban market is open to foreign imports since January 2014, in July of the same year we wondered whether it was the smallest car market in the world with just 50 units sold in the first six months, almost exclusively second hand. This due to sticker prices being marked up a staggering 400% or more upon entry in the country, pricing family sedans like supercars. Since then, not much has filtered out about this market. Given its tax structure, it seems likely that the best-sellers in Cuba are dictated by government orders. In December 2017, Russian carmaker Avtovaz (Lada) reported it resumed its exports towards the country for the first time in 12 years., with 320 Lada Vesta for the tourism sector and taxi services. “Cuba is one of our preferred export markets,” said Avtovaz president Nicolas Maure. Lada indeed has a long tradition in Cuba, where old models are still used to this day. This batch is likely to make the Lada Vesta the best-selling new vehicle in Cuba in 2017.

Lada taxis in Cuba