Algeria has decided to permanently exclude foreigners from the importation and sale of new vehicles on its territory. The government has decided to close the door to car dealerships with foreign capital, such as Renault Algeria and Peugeot Algeria or the CFAO group, which distributed several brands in Algeria such as Citroën.
If the specifications relating to the activity of importing vehicles did not definitively exclude foreigners, by providing that for the latter, “the conditions and modalities of exercising this activity are specified by a specific text. ”, Minister of Industry Ferhat Ait Ali did.
“There can be no possibility for a foreign party to market on Algerian territory its own brand or that of other operators. It is acceptable for a foreign operator to be in an exporter position to Algeria, but not as an importer and distributor within the national territory. In other words, it would win from the place of origin to the customer, “Ferhat Ait Ali said in an interview with ENTV, broadcast Wednesday evening.
Specifically, he said that the presence of foreign-invested auto dealers was not in the interest of the national economy.
“We therefore considered that this approach is an attack on national sovereignty and the national economy,” argued Ferhat Ait Ali, referring to accusations of overbilling against foreign concessionaires.
The latter buy and resell vehicles in Algeria, and often report negative balance sheets, while the state’s vehicle resale activity is profitable for Algerian-owned dealers.
This Thursday in the Senate, Ferhat Ait Ali accused foreign parties, without naming them, of pressuring Algeria to allow foreigners to resume the activity of importing vehicles.
“This activity is reserved for commercial companies whose share capital is wholly owned by resident national operators”, specifies Article 3 of the specifications relating to the import of vehicles. In other words, even Algerians in the diaspora are not allowed to set up car import and sales companies in Algeria.
