THE CUBA REVIEW 



L'l 



A Road in Porto Padre, Province of Oriente. 



and trucks.- They are mostly persons of limited means, however, and do not expect 

 to make outright purchases of cars. They usually have two or three cars on exhibi- 

 tion, perhaps of different makes, and they also handle tires and other accessories. 



BEST METHODS OF INTRODUCING AUTOMOBILES— KINDS OF CARS IN 



DEMAND. 



Catalogues, even in Spanish, are of little use in initiating trade in Cuba. Ad- 

 vertising in the local press is better, but American houses will do best to employ 

 good representatives who will study all the conditions that affect the trade, who wiU 

 make acquaintances and establish agencies. Commerce in Havana is thoroughly or- 

 ganized, and keen competition is expected in the near future when European cars will 

 doubtless be well presented in the Cuban markets. During the war years the United 

 States supplied over 90 per cent, of Cuba's imports of automobiles, only a few cars 

 and a small proportion of accessories coming from Spain, Italy, France, and Great 

 Britain. Cuban statistics do no1 show separately the pre-war imports of automo- 

 biles, but it is certain thai a much larger percentage of European cars were imported 

 by Cuba prior to 1914. 



Agents sent to work the Cuban field should have a thorough understanding of 

 the cars sold. A study of the Cuban market indicates that large, expensive cars are 

 in demand by the wealthier classes in Havana and other cities, but there is a grow- 

 ing market for medium-priced and light cars for use on the rough roads in the coun- 

 try sections. In Santiago, the second largest city, there are numerous bills, the 

 only good driving streets being on the water front. At present there appears to be 

 little market in Cuba for electric cars, largely because it is not customary for Cuban 

 women to drive cars, and this eliminates the largest factor in the sale of electric 



