Banco Ciudad
auctioned a fleet of 46 official vehicles
that belonged to the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation. The auction had been announced by Martín Menem, who presides over the venue, as a cutting measure that accompanies "the austerity mandate entrusted by the President", as was promoted at the time.
Of all the vehicles that were auctioned, the one that got all the initial attention was the Toyota Hiace Wagon, the van that
Sergio Massa
used since 2021, when the model entered the official fleet of the Chamber of Deputies. In fact, he continued to use it after he left his position as a deputy and became minister of economy in Alberto Fernández's government.
Other vehicles available for auction were the Toyota SW4 and Camry, several Volkswagen Vento, Peugeot 408, Nissan Sentra, Chevrolet Cruze and Peugeot Partner, among others. There was also a Passat with the engine block and alternator removed and a trailer.
This fleet was
located in the fifth basement of the chamber's annex building and
prior to the auction, interested parties could visit it to observe the condition of the vehicles.
The auction was held online
,
through the Banco Ciudad platform, and ended at 5:40 p.m. on Monday, April 8. The total collection of what was auctioned
reached $370,400,000
.
Serious Massa, getting out of the Toyota Hiace Wagon, with electric sliding doors.
Massa's minivan, less than expected
The Toyota Hiace Wagon that Sergio Massa used for almost three years started the auction with a base price of $26,000,000. Speculation indicated that
it could raise up to 40 million
, since it is also an executive category vehicle.
The configuration of this model includes capacity for
10 occupants with luxury seats with armrests and the possibility of reclining the seats
. Some of them have electric regulation and footrest. All the upholstery is leather and its large side and sliding doors are electrically operated.
Each row of seats (3-2-2-3 layout) has its corresponding air conditioning outlets and the rear seats have a total of 6 USB ports to connect devices. It comes equipped with a 2.8-liter, 163-horsepower turbodiesel engine, which is linked to a 6-speed automatic gearbox.
Sergio Massa, getting off the Toyota SW4 that was also auctioned and that belonged to the Deputies' fleet.
Toyota began assembling this model at its Zárate plant but not this Wagon version, which is imported from Japan. Although it appears on the Japanese brand's website, its current price is not listed.
The latest reference is $74,900
.
"I must admit that I am a user of the truck and it is the most beautiful in Argentina," said Massa in the middle of last year when Toyota announced that it was going to begin assembling the utility versions of this model.
That "truck" that the former economy minister was talking about is the one that belonged to the fleet of the Chamber of Deputies and that has just been auctioned. And if there was an expectation to know how much it would sell for, reality showed that it was much lower than expected:
it was sold for $28,000,000
, just two million more than the initial base and far from the projected 40 million.
However, the vehicle that raised the most at the auction was another Toyota that Massa also frequently used. This is the 4x4 SW4 that ended up selling for $41,700,000.