Just 50 Of Cuba's Massively Inflated Import Cars Were Sold In The Last Six Months

With scarily inflated prices like £160k for a humble Peugeot 508, it's no surprise that Cubans haven't warmed to the country's new car import laws

Matt Robinson

Updated: 10 Oct 2024

Just 50 Of Cuba's Massively Inflated Import Cars Were Sold In The Last Six Months

It was announced at the beginning of the year that the long-standing ban on selling imported cars in Cuba was at last being axed. However, it wasn’t the best news for most Cubans, as dealers - all owned by the state - were trying to sell new cars with ludicrous mark-ups: Peugeot 508 for £160k, anyone?

With the enormously inflated prices in mind, it’s no surprise that very few people bought an imported motor in the first six months of this new era of Cuban motoring. According to Reuters, just 50 cars were sold.

With just 50 import cars sold in six months, the Cuban tradition of keeping old Yank tanks alive looks set to stay — With just 50 import cars sold in six months, the Cuban tradition of…

The average price of each vehicle sold was $23,759 (£13,866), which means most were probably (the still very expensive) used cars rather than the exorbitantly-priced new machinery, but that’s still a huge price in a country where the average wage is the equivalent of £12 a month. Those old 50s Yank tanks won’t be dying out any time soon.