The prices of used vehicles are exploding, and this is not new, or even the day before yesterday. The “phenomenon” has grown to such an extent that cars which have not been manufactured for years and whose age exceeds 20 years have now become inaccessible. The observation is the same in all markets across the country, where old clunkers are offered at the price of new ones. At the Tolga used car market, about forty kilometers from Biskra, the owner of a Peugeot 406 from 2002, with more than 200,000 km on the clock, refused to sell it for 300 million centimes. Incredible, but true! At the same market, a 2008 Dacia Logan with more than 500,000 kilometers on the odometer found no buyers at 175 million centimes. As everywhere else, the transactions are beyond all understanding and nothing seems to stop this “infernal” cycle, which has taken over a market where the rule of supply and demand did not withstand the earthquake that followed the dismantling of the automobile industry installed by networks affiliated with Issaba. What is behind this new surge in second-hand prices? Does the recent rejection by the National People’s Assembly (APN) of amendments proposing a relaxation of the regulations governing the importation of used vehicles less than three years old have something to do with it? By notably prohibiting Algerian nationals residing abroad from acquiring used cars to resell them in Algeria in local currency, it is the parallel market for the currency which has exploded. At the same time, the importation of new vehicles is still kept on hold, as long as the issue of quotas has not been resolved. Questioned on this subject by a deputy, Ali Aoun released his responsibility, indicating that this file did not fall exclusively within his ministerial department. The Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production stressed that the issue also concerns other ministries, such as that of Commerce, while specifying that the agreement of the high council for import regulation is also necessary. So what are the reasons behind the cessation of the importation of new cars by authorized dealers? Is this stop temporary or permanent? And what are the solutions for this problem? The minister’s responses were limited to the technical and forecasting aspects. “Our ministerial department works mainly to develop the industry in this sector with a substantial integration rate.“, Aoun wrote in his response. “We work closely with the Ministry of Commerce to define the criteria for distributing this quota, based mainly on market needs and the preservation of foreign exchange reserves.“, he added, noting regarding the cessation of the importation of vehicles, that the 2023 quota, in addition to the quota for the current year, “have not yet been consumed ».
Mohamed Mebarki
Swiss
