A union force measure is stopping the import of cars and motorcycles

Since last week, a strike of workers from the national administration, who are linked to the operation of the Automotive Registries and who are in charge of issuing car import certificates, is stopping the import of cars and motorcycles.

This documentation is what is needed so that, once the vehicle has been entered, it can be invoiced. For this reason, foreign trade operations cannot be carried out for several days.

The measure does not affect sectional records so, For the moment, it will not impact the patents of the month, but it may complicate operations in the coming days.

According to car importers, these certificates are being released in dribs and drabs, which hinders the brands’ activity.

“The issue is not now, because we are in the middle of the month and there is no need to invoice, but as the conflict prolongs and the days go by, the situation will be different and may become a problem,” he said. a businessman in the sector.

The national administration assured some automakers that “somehow” the problem would be solved, although, for the moment, there are no signs of agreement.

Car imports on the rise

This situation occurs at a time when car imports are increasing. for the release that Javier Milei’s government ordered a few days after taking office. If the conflict continues, it could impact the volume of patents that has been growing.

The Association of Automotive Dealers of the Argentine Republic (ACARA) reported that the number of patented vehicles during October 2024 amounted to 44,126 units, which represents an increase of 5.2% year-on-year, since in October 2023 41,941 units had been registered. If the comparison is against September of this year, an increase of 1% is observed since 43,680 units had been registered last month.

In this way, the accumulated ten months of the year show a registration of 355,886 units, this is 9.9% less than in the same period of 2023, in which 394,942 vehicles had been registered.

The president of ACARA, Sebastian Beato, noted that “for the third consecutive month we continue with monthly and interannual growth, with an October that remains above 44,000 patents and that is good news because it consolidates a good second half after a very worrying first half. Since the beginning of the year I was excited about closing the year with a figure that starts with 4 but today we are certain that we are going to have more than 410,000 units, something that back in March seemed unthinkable. The causes are still several, the issue of the issue has been added. money laundering, but mainly the return, now with multiple options, of financing. This is added to an increasingly wide range of models in stock, a sustained drop in inflation and more logical prices.”