SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Car sales at Tijuana dealerships are plummeting as more and more people buy vehicles north of the border and take them back to Mexico to resell them, turning a profit.
Jorge Macías Jiménez, vice president of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism in Tijuana says all folks have to do is pay 500 pesos, about $30, at the border as an import fee for these so-called “chocolate cars.”
He worries this is driving used car lots out of business in Tijuana because if a dealer imports a car, they must pay up to 25,000 pesos, about $1,500, a cost added to the sales price.
Macías Jiménez claims sales are down by 90 percent at most lots.
He blames the average person for taking advantage of a system instituted to help drivers register their cars that at one time were brought to Mexico illegally.
The term “chocolate cars” is derived from the Spanish word chueco, which means crooked.
The program was supposed to be for vehicles never registered and brought to Mexico before October 2021.
But Macías Jiménez says the state has allowed the registration of cars imported since then.
“This turned into something else, it became a business with more cars coming in and getting registered,” he said. “You have 200 to 400 cars per day coming in through customs, it’s a moneymaker for them — it’s become an unfair competition for car dealers, they don’t stand a chance.”
Macías Jiménez says there are no signs this practice will come to an end soon.
“It helps the state, once these owners show proof of an import fee, the state registers them and issues license plates, at $61 per vehicle it’s money to be made.”
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