United Group of Automobile Importers (GUIA), an organization representing the Puerto Rican automotive industry, today presented the results of new car sales for January 2021. The month ended with a total of 10,085 units sold in Puerto Rico, as opposed to sales for this month last year of 6,653, which is 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 Vanes segment with an increase of 85% and the Sedanes segment with an increase of 81.1% with the last year.
“The increase in January by over 51% compared to the totals of the previous year is extremely unusual in a mature market like ours, but the reality is that it mainly responds to the effect of the earthquakes of January 2020, which had a logical impact as part of this growth In January, we also saw an increase in the delivery of rented vehicles by more than 205%, given that units that could not be delivered in December due to factory production capacity were delivered in January. this in over 15 years. What we are experiencing is a growing demand for federal funds and this year, we will not be closed for two and a half months by executive order like last year. For this reason, we forecast an industry of 104K units this year, over 95K by 2020. “, said Ricardo M. García, President of GUIA.
As he said, 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 boost the economy.
“With a significant increase in vaccination, making the sectors reopen in a normal way, we need to start meeting everyone’s expectations, both the public and the private sectors. Without it, everything would be delayed. There is a desire collective of all of us who make up the ecosystem of the automotive industry, being able to be an important part of the engine that contributes to the economic growth of our country and to continue to serve our customers safely, as we have done so far, “he concluded.
GUIA is an independent, non-profit organization that was established in 2006 to address issues that directly affect the automotive industry, as well as issues related to the general economy of Puerto Rico.
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