New car sales show 5% Y-O-Y growth in November, trade group says
New car sales for the month of November totaled 10,503 in Puerto Rico, up 5% year-over-year from the 10,001 units sold in the same month in 2018, he United Group of Automobile Importers confirmed.
GUIA, as the trade organization is known for its initials
in Spanish, said, however, that new car sales so far this year are 1.2% below
what is on record for the same period in 2018.
This month, the segments that had an increase compared
to the same month last year were SUV’s with 19%, followed by the mini compact
segment with 11.4%, and the sub-compact segment with an increase of 4.1%.
However, in contrast to the same month last year, the of medium sedans segment showed a decrease of 79.4%, followed by vans, with a 47.8% decrease.
“After seeing a third quarter with negative results
over 2018, creating great concern in the automotive sector, the fourth quarter
has been above and that’s encouraging news as we move toward a new decade, even
though the accumulated total is slightly below,” said GUIA President Ricardo
García.
“It’s evident that consumers have visited dealers and
have taken advantage of the aggressive offers during this Christmas season and
the benefit of still low interest rates,” he said.
He also said car rental companies continue to have
positive results, given that November ended with a 13.7% increase in vehicle
purchases, for a cumulative 1.5% year-over-year.
“We believe that the purchases by this sector shows
that the demand for car rental is increasing, contributing positively in the
island’s economy,” García said.
GUIA is an independent, nonprofit organization that
was created in 2006 to address issues that directly concern the automotive
industry, as well as issues related to Puerto Rico’s general economy.
GUIA members represent 23 car brands and more than 96%
of total sales of new vehicles in Puerto Rico.
