Import Car Dealership: First Models Arrive in Algeria

After the process of obtaining final approvals for importing three new car brands, the first models that will be inspected and subjected to conformity by the experts arrive in Algeria, pending the preparation of showrooms by the concerned dealers who will put up posters of the bards to be sold, and train the new staff about the activity, knowing that the first holders of the final approvals are importers of Fiat, Opel and Jac cars.

According to sources related to the file, the first imported model cars of the “Fiat” dealer arrived in Algeria, where they were inspected by experts, last Thursday, while the dealer began procedures for importing the lineup for sale, knowing that the process will include most of the vehicles of this Italian brand, similar to Fiat Punto, Fiat 500, Fiat 500C, and other commercial vehicles. Opel and Jac dealers will also import all the existing range of cars of these brands.

The import process goes through several stages, which is the import of model cars at the beginning to be examined by the experts for their conformity with the specifications and items previously announced by the dealer in the initially deposited file, according to what was previously stipulated in the specifications governing the activity issued last November, and then the suspension of the special stickers of the brand at the level of showrooms and facilities, which is what the dealer “Halil” owner of the “Opel” leadership in Blida is currently working on, for example, and then training workers and employees on how to deal with customers.

The import process is not subject to the quota system, as was the case in the previous specifications, before the issuance of the current specifications regulating the import in November 2022, as there is no official article in the decree stipulating the roofing of the process, except that the import and banking settlement must pass through the electronic platform of the National Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Trade “Algex”, to ensure the regularity of the process, the same source said.

As for prices, the spokesman says that the concerned dealers are the only ones authorized to determine the cost of the car and the investments made, as each agent bets on attracting customers through three points, which are the price of the vehicle, the availability of spare parts and after-sales services, which are the points that dealers compete for during the next stage. Especially since the Ministry of Industry continues the process of sorting files and is expected to grant final approvals to other dealers in various types of vehicles in the next stage, including trucks, tractors, motorcycles and other vehicles, the source added: “Anyone who meets the necessary conditions and submits an integrated file will undoubtedly obtain approval of the activity”.

It is assumed that other dealers will obtain import licenses during the next stage, and they are agents who will import the vehicles of the multinational “Stellantis” complex, which includes several brands such as Peugeot, Citroen and others brands, and it is known that an agreement has been signed between the industrial sector and the Italian factory Fiat, affiliated to the Stellantis global complex, last October, to set up a project for the manufacture of touring and light utility vehicles in Oran, which represents an embodiment of the distinguished relations between Algeria and Italy.

Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis Group, the fourth largest automaker in the world that includes the Fiat brand in its portfolio, had previously stated that the signature came “after vigorous consultations to embody the distinguished relations between Algeria and Italy”.