Related videos:
Cuba has started construction work on the Russian-Cuban taxi park in Havana, as confirmed this Thursday by the Department of Transportation of Moscow to the Russian newspaper Izvestia.
The project includes the operation of 50 Moskvich vehicles —a combination of gasoline and electric models— and the installation of solar charging infrastructure for the electric vehicles.
"Currently, the Cuban side is carrying out construction work on the land where the taxi park's infrastructure will be located; the deadlines for completing the construction work depend on our colleagues," stated the Moscow agency.
The same source clarified that "all the cars and equipment are ready for shipment from Russia."
Once operational, the service will cater to both residents of Havana and tourists from Russia and other countries, according to the Department of Transport of Moscow.
The project was discussed on April 1st in St. Petersburg, during the XXIII session of the Russian-Cuban Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation.
In that meeting, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Chernyshenko confirmed that the Russian side would deliver the 50 vehicles for the Havana park and also announced the resumption of GAZ vehicle assembly in Cuba during 2026.
The background of the project dates back to November 2024, when the Deputy Mayor of Transportation in Moscow, Maxim Liksutov, and the Minister of Transportation of Cuba, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, signed a cooperation memorandum to deploy 50 Moskvich vehicles for taxi services in Havana and Varadero.
In May 2025, President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the Moskvich factory in Moscow, where Mayor Serguéi Sobianin offered him 10 additional vehicles as a donation.
Those cars arrived in Havana in November 2025 and were designated for health and education services, not for general public transportation.
The announcement comes amid the worst transportation collapse that Cuba has experienced in decades.
State passenger transport plummeted by 93% between January and September 2025, and the urban transport system of Havana completely collapsed on February 6, 2026, with all routes suspended.
In that context, the 50 Moskvich taxis—primarily intended for tourists and residents who can afford them—represent a marginal solution to the actual mobility needs of the Cuban population.
Filed under: