Aleppo – Muhammad al-Ali

The car market in the city of Aleppo has witnessed an unprecedented turning point and opening since the exit of the previous Syrian regime forces at the end of November 2024, just days before the regime’s fall.

A number of cars quickly entered the city, bearing license plates from Idlib, Manbij, Mare’ and other locations, transforming the street scene with the appearance of modern car models that were rare during the time of the ousted regime, as the regime had stopped importing cars since 2011.

The entry of new types opened the door to fraud in sales operations, particularly concerning the specifications of vehicles, their origin, and usage period.

Cut or flooded cars

Car dealer Abdul Razzaq al-Haj stated that the cars imported to the markets of Idlib and rural Aleppo come from South Korea and the United States; however, they include cases of cut and flooded cars. He noted that the demand for these vehicles encourages traders to continue importing and selling them.

Al-Haj added in an interview with Enab Baladi that most sellers do not disclose to the buyer that there are cut or flooded defects in the cars, pointing out that the significant reduction in their prices confirms the existence of fraud in the sales.

He explained that these cars were originally involved in accidents leading to numerous defects, and they should be scrapped in their home countries. However, some traders import them as spare parts, then assemble and sell them, although some do claim during the sale process that the car is cut.

Cars are classified into types based on their legal and technical status. In addition to cut cars, there are those referred to as “wrapped cars,” which are either stolen or have accrued debts to banks, or they are part of inheritances.

Some traders sell cut or stolen cars to customers without any records, claiming that their documents have been lost with a discount of up to 50% compared to regular cars or typically imported European cars from the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, where the car is inspected to verify its source and legal status.

On the other hand, car prices have significantly decreased with the arrival of vehicles from northern Syria into Aleppo, and the prices of older cars have also dropped, which had previously reached record numbers before the fall of the regime, even though some of those cars were made over 30 years ago.

Before the fall of the Syrian regime, and as Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia on December 8, 2024, a Kia Rio car was priced at 41 million Syrian pounds (about 3,400 USD) in Idlib, while in regime-controlled areas, it could reach up to 200 million pounds (around 17,000 USD).

In the past two weeks, car prices in northern Syria have risen, but they remain lower compared to other regions, according to sellers interviewed by Enab Baladi.

Trial period

The Ministry of Transport in the interim Damascus government has taken measures aimed at reducing the prices of imported cars, including granting a trial period of three months before the final delivery of the vehicle, provided that imports are limited to models from 2010 and above.

The Director of Vehicle Importation at the Ministry of Transport, Abd al-Latif Shartah, stated that the ministry began issuing driving licenses for vehicles imported from the UAE at the beginning of this year.

The import procedures include mechanical examinations of the vehicles by specialized committees to ensure they comply with specifications and customs data before granting them temporary licenses, according to Shartah.

During his talk to the official Syrian news agency (SANA), Shartah mentioned that all procedures and issuance of plates and temporary driving licenses take place at the Nassib border crossing and do not take more than an hour, noting that temporary plates can be extended for one year from the date of entry, with three months extension for each renewal.