Puerto Rico auto sales on non-stop drop, -14.9% in Jan.
GUIA President José Ordeix (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
Puerto Rico’s auto industry reported Thursday yet another month of negative sales, confirming that January showed a 14.9 percent decrease in activity, upholding a non-stop drop that began early last year.
The United Automobile Importers Group (known as GUIA for its initials in Spanish), an organization that represents the Puerto Rico car sector, said 7,461 fewer new units rolled off the lots last month, in comparison to the 6,353 sold during the same month in 2013. The drop in retail sales represented a decline of 13.9 percent, while fleet sales showed a reduction of 29.1 percent.
“Puerto Rico’s automotive market continues to experience a marked slowdown. In fact, the volume of sales this January was the lowest start of a year that we have seen in the past six years,” said GUIA President José Ordeix.
“We’re paying attention to the tax issues and the effect that the proposed changes could have on the automotive industry. In particular, we’re concerned that they could represent an impact disposable income.”
