Expert: Car prices to fall by 30% in autumn
Car sellers are complaining that the work “has come to a standstill” and are considering the possibility of selling fruit and vegetables.
The car market “Zhdanovichy” is half empty these days. To be precise, two thirds of the market is empty. People used to be competing for the stalls only two months ago, say the sellers.
"There are interested clients but they do not buy! Nothing has been sold so far. We are waiting and the work has come to a standstill”, - a car seller is worried.
He says a few words to his compatriots in Azerbaijani from time to time.
They confirm that the situation is bad.
"A 2001 Audi A6 costs 13 thousands now. It was bought for 12500 or 12000. We will have to sell it for 8 or 9 thousands in a month – we will lose 5 thousands!” – says Valtyr.
His colleague: "I sold three cars last month and I haven’t sold any this month! If the trade comes to a halt like this we will have to sell something else. We will sell fruit and vegetables. Cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons – we will sell them during the season. Then we will sell cabbages and potatoes to survive! Everyone has 4 or 5 kids here, we need to support our families!”
Syarhei Mihailau, publishing editor of “Auto Business”, explains that the cars are overpriced at the moment. Belarusians’ purchasing capacity decreased twice after the devaluation but the prices still depend on the dollar rate.
Syarhei Mihailau: "The high prices in the market will be causing a standstill for a few months. Only those who will manage to deliver their cars to Russia will escape it. The market will revive later, in October”.
According to him, nobody would like to keep cars in winter so sellers will have to offer discounts. How big will they be? They will negate the overpricing, says Syarhei Mihailau. It is about 30 percent.
Some sellers are already offering small discounts in Zhdanovichy market.
What way out can sellers find in this situation? Valtyr says that Belarus should… join the European Union!
Valtyr: "We should join the European Union! People who have never been there do not know what it is like. And those who have – they do not want to come back because there are vacancies, freedom of speech and so on”.
