San Juan, May 10 (EFE).- Vehicle sales in Puerto Rico last April increased by 0.34% compared to the same month in 2022, reported this Wednesday the United Group of Automobile Importers (GUIA), an organization representing the local automotive industry.
GUIA detailed in a press release that a total of 10,870 units were sold in Puerto Rico last month, specifically some 37 more than those sold that same month last year -10,833- which represents an increase of 0.34%.
Given this, José R. Ordeix, president of GUIA, said in the statement that April reflected a substantial improvement based on a greater availability of new vehicles in most brands.
GUIA also detailed that the accumulated sales of automobiles in the first four months of 2023 amount to 40,416 units, a difference of 7.18% less, compared to the 43,543 vehicles sold in the same period in 2022.
Despite this, Ordeix assured that when the level of sales of each of the four months elapsed is compared, a demand is still observed that is among the highest levels in the last 15 years.
However, he maintained that retail demand is being pressured by macroeconomic issues of inflation and high interest rates that reduce consumer purchasing power.
“The drop in retail sales is offset by an improvement in fleet sales. Due to the lack of inventory in the past years, fleet sales were limited, so by improving the availability of distributors’ inventory, a higher level of sales has been observed in this channel”, he explained.
Ordeix also mentioned that in the period between January and April of this year, fleet sales represented 7.4% of total demand compared to the same period in 2022, which represented 3.47% of demand. total.
GUIA is an independent, non-profit organization that was created in 2006 in order to address issues that directly concern the automotive industry, as well as issues related to the general economy of Puerto Rico.
