United Group of Automobile Importers (GUIA), an organization that represents the automotive industry in Puerto Rico, today presented the results of sales of new cars for January 2021.
The month ended with a total of 10,085 units sold in Puerto Rico, compared to 6,653 sales in the same month last year, an increase of 51.6% over the previous year. One of the segments that had a significant impact for the month was the minivan segment with an increase of 99.1%, followed by the vans segment with an increase of 85% and the sedan segment with an increase of 81.1% with the last year
“The increase in January is unusual in a mature market like ours, but the reality is that it mainly responds to the effects of the January 2020 earthquakes, which affected sales. As part of that increase in January, we also saw an increase in vehicle rental delivery of over 205% given that units that could not be delivered in December due to production capacity in factories, were delivered in January. We haven’t had a January like this for more than 15 years, “said Ricardo M. García, president of GUIA.
As he explained, there is an increase in demand due to federal funds, and the sale of 104,000 units is forecast this year, compared to 95,000 in 2020.
“With the new US government, it is expected that the additional funds allocated to the Island will begin to arrive later this year and help revitalize the economy. And with a significant increase in vaccination, making the sectors open. again, normally, we have to start meeting everyone’s expectations, both in the public and private sectors, ”Garcia said.