Monopoly in Automotive Market
By ahmedzaki99 •
Few Months back, there was an article in the news, where Ministry was talking about ending monopolistic policies in automotive industry, whereby any party having import license could bring in any brand of vehicle into the country, which would make market competitive, benefiting end users.
Still i see dealers are charging sky rocketing prices for there vehicles, whereas in the neighboring countries , prices are still low.
Has the new rule implemented or still only plain talking going on, dragging the implementation purposefully, just to benefit the big fishes in the market.
Although there is some monopolistic behavior in Qatar's automotive market, you can't say the prices are sky rocketing high, thats just plain right ridiculous. Which car are you comparing to, in terms of prices and nearby neighbor country prices? Pls don't exaggerate, no drama is needed. Prices are slightly higher than Dubai or Saudi. But still within means to purchase them, if you do your financial planning right.
Cars are fairly cheap here. They might be slightly more expensive than Dubai or Saudi Arabia, but they are still affordable. Also, all dealerships have discounts on their cars. You just have to wait for the right time to buy (Ramadan, Eid, around National Day, around Sports Day, etc.).
In a monopoly system, the market force of "Supply & Demand" is defeated, because the monopolists tend to dictate their pricing mechanism owing to no competition.
Qatar is, though keen to end these monopolies from the automobile sector, yet they have perhaps to complete some more work.
You shouldn't compare prices here to other countries. Prices are also influenced by local supply/demand characteristics. Car prices have dropped over the last few months due to the number of layoffs. Some brands are still holding their value and some companies are playing the long game and hoping the market will rebound. Right now you have the power as the consumer - shop around and negotiate