A Peugeot for over $250,000!
Cuba is now loosening restrictions on the purchase of new and foreign cars as current President, Raul Castro, looks to rejuvenate the nation's economic model. Up until 2011, Cubans were not allowed to have ownership of cars built after the 1959 revolution unless they had a permit. However, the government were only giving these permits to those in positions that would benefit them such as musicians, athletes and diplomats. A black market has now taken shape in the back streets of Cuba with permits being sold for sums of cash over fifty times greater than the average person's salary. But the new law discards the requirement of a permit.
In some cases, prices of cars have been reported to have a 400% increase. The problem doesn't lie with the rise in price but the price itself. The average Cuban that works for the state will earn $20 a month. This means that even the people such as doctors who are considered to be of a higher class cannot afford the modern cars even with the aid of the permit. A Peugeot 508 will cost you $262,000 in Cuba. The same model of car is listed on Peugeot's UK website at $29,000.
The government have defended themselves saying that revenue brought in from the consumption of modern cars will be allocated towards improving the evidently poor transport links the country currently has in place.
But one Cuban resident, Daniel Rojas, asked: "At these prices, how many people can buy the cars? So where's the money to invest in public transport if no-one can buy them?
In some cases, prices of cars have been reported to have a 400% increase. The problem doesn't lie with the rise in price but the price itself. The average Cuban that works for the state will earn $20 a month. This means that even the people such as doctors who are considered to be of a higher class cannot afford the modern cars even with the aid of the permit. A Peugeot 508 will cost you $262,000 in Cuba. The same model of car is listed on Peugeot's UK website at $29,000.
The government have defended themselves saying that revenue brought in from the consumption of modern cars will be allocated towards improving the evidently poor transport links the country currently has in place.
But one Cuban resident, Daniel Rojas, asked: "At these prices, how many people can buy the cars? So where's the money to invest in public transport if no-one can buy them?
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