Used tire sales down 70% after new regulation by Intrant
The recent prohibition on the use and installation of used, remodeled or out-of-date tires has reduced the sale of these tires by 70% in the local market. Francisco Ramirez, who owns a used tire store in Villa Juana, told El Dia that this decree by the National Institute for Ground Transportation and Transit (Intrant) is affecting both the seller and the clients, since new tires cost upwards of RD$3,000 and more, and not everyone is willing to pay that price.
Ramirez asks: “If they allow the import of tires made in 2015, what are they going to do with them in January of 2020? With five or six million tires imported, what are they going to do?
Moises Vidal says that used tires are affordable since prices vary with the size of the tire. A “concho” can buy tires that cost betweenRD$500 and RD$700, and tires for the hundreds, maybe thousands of Hyundais on the road cost between RD$1,200 and RD$1,400. The cost of these tires to the wholesalers varies with the size and the year of manufacture.
According to the Customs office, there were nearly 1.4 million used, light vehicle tires imported in 2018. Only a little over 11,000 truck tires were imported. Most of the tires come from South Korea, China, Spain and Germany. Fines for the use of unsafe tires can be over RD$5,000.
Source: DR1, Eldia
June 24, 2019
Category: DR News |