AREQUIPA, Peru – The branch of the German company Mercedes-Benz on the Island issued a statement to its clients due to the high demand from Cubans interested in purchasing brand vehicles under the new Decree 119/24.
Cubans have saturated the routes available to acquire the company’s cars, according to the notice on Facebook. Since last January 9, Mercedes-Benz began contracting for the sale of vehicles to natural persons under the framework of the aforementioned regulations and its complementary regulations.
“We want to thank you for the great trust placed in us, reflected in the high demand and the significant number of clients who have come to our facilities or registered through our website,” says the official publication.
In this regard, the branch recognized the concerns of customers, especially those who have not yet received their appointment to obtain the vehicles.
“This is due to the high volume of registrations that we have managed since October 2024, which continues to grow due to the interest generated by the entry into force of the new Decree,” the statement highlights.
Likewise, the company clarified that to hire appointments, appointments are assigned in order of seniority of the record in its systems. Although not all vehicle models are available in the market, they warned, they are importing “continuously,” and customers will be able to hire them once they are in transit.
The company MCV Comercial SA, founded in 1995, authorized distributor of Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi FUSO products in Cuba, has its headquarters headquarters in Berroa, municipality of Havana del Este, and has branches in Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Villa Clara, Camagüey, Holguín, Moa and Santiago de Cuba.
According to information from the pageMercedes-Benz cars boast prices ranging from $51,000 to more than $191,000, with taxes included.
The catalog announced last Monday shows four Mercedes-Benz and other vehicles from Chinese brands, including FAW, DFSK, Skywell and Foton. DFSK, with the lowest prices, costs 16,465 USD but other Chinese models reach 46,900, such as the Skywell SUV.
“Now you can make the payment with the CLASSIC card,” the company’s account promoted, in response to questions from Internet users about how they would pay the cost.
“Will I be able to buy one with my salary as a budgeted worker and also a professional in this country?” a Cuban ironically questioned when she learned about the high prices of the vehicles.
As of its entry into force on January 1, 2025, of Decree 119 of 2024, MCV Comercial SA was authorized to market motor vehicles to natural persons, as well as legal entities.
The Minister of Transportation of Cuba, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, announced at the end of December the approval of the new policy for the marketing of vehicles engine, as well as its import and transfer of ownership.
This legal framework was included in the Official Gazette (ordinary) number 128 and came into force on January 1, 2025. The provisions, which include a decree-law, a decree, ten resolutions from various organizations and four other internal resolutions, arrived after several months of waiting and their objective, according to the headline, is “to take advantage of and favor every available opportunity to improve the mobility of passengers and cargo.”
According to Rodríguez Dávila, “this policy will make it possible to make procedures more flexible and simpler in accordance with the current situation, as well as eliminate or counteract causes and conditions of irregularities that arise in these processes.” However, he stressed that the implementation of the new rules “does not by itself solve the problem of transportation in Cubanor will it immediately allow each Cuban to buy a car with their salary,” because, in his opinion, the country’s economic conditions need to improve.
