Puerto Rico auto sales up 1.7% in Nov., trade group says
Consumer demand for new cars in November was 91,610 units.
Puerto Rico car sales showed a slight improvement last month, when 8,906 vehicles were sold on the island, representing a 1.7 percent year-over-year increase, said the United Automobile Importers Group (known as GUIA for its initials in Spanish), an organization that represents the local automotive industry.
When combined, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands sold a total of 9,323 new cars in November, an increase of 329 units and 3.7 percent when compared to the same month in 2012.
“The November demand was largely benefited by fleet unit sales and the introduction of new models typical of the time,” said José Ordeix, president of GUIA.
The combined demand for new vehicles in Puerto Rico and USVI cumulative to November 2013 amounted to 91,610 units, representing an increase of 1,492 units versus the same period in 2012, reflecting a variation of 1.7 percent. In the case of Puerto Rico demand in this period reflects a cumulative 89,749 units, reflecting a variation of 1.3% versus the same period last year.
“The demand for vehicles at year-end 2013 is estimated to close reflecting low growth as GUIA projected in early 2013 with the expectation of a variation below 2 percent in comparison to the 102,550 units registered in 2012, a year when vehicle demand grew by 9.5 percent when compared to 2011,” Ordeix said.
