After a 50% year-on-year fall in new car sales in 2020, Panamanian businessmen expect a 25% increase in the number of units sold in the local market by 2021.
In Panama, the distributors' union is asking the government to open up sales channels, which is included in the third block of the return to normal scheme, whose start date has not yet been defined.
In Panama, social distancing measures have been applied and vehicle repair shops are allowed to have only 10 employees, which makes the provision of most services unfeasible.
For the Association of Car Dealers (ADAP), the decision of the Panamanian authorities to approve the reopening of vehicle workshops is positive; however, the restrictions applied in the context of the covid-19 outbreak complicate their operation.
Due to the crisis generated by the Covid-19, car dealers in Panama estimate that during 2020 the number of units sold could fall by almost 50% compared to the figure reported in 2019.
If businessmen's forecasts are true, the negative trend of recent years would continue, since during 2019 47,866 units were registered in the country, 6% less than in the previous year.
According to the reported decrease in new car sales in 2017 and 2018 in Panama, during 2019 the negative trend continued, as 47,866 units were registered, 6% less than the previous year.
Reports from the General Comptroller's Office of the Republic explain that since 2017 there has been a drop in new vehicle sales, since 56,905 units were sold that year, 15% less than cars sold in 2016.
After the number of new vehicles sold in Panama fell 11% between 2017 and 2018, this year the distributors’ guild estimates that the year-on-year decline could be just 2%.
Focusing on segments looking for SUVs is one of the strategies Panama's new car dealers are using to boost sales.
Focusing on segments that seek vehicles such as Data of the General Comptroller of the Republic of Panama specify that between 2016 and 2017 the number of new vehicles registered in the country fell 15%, and between 2017 and 2018 the fall was 11%.
In Panama, small cars gain market preference, as most buyers look for models ranging in price from $9,000 to $22,000.
The latest report of the General Comptroller of the Republic, according to the behavior reported in recent years, details that between January and November 2018 45,898 new vehicles were registered in Panama, 13% less than in the same period of 2017.
The union of vehicle dealers reported that the brands Toyota, Hyundai and Kia led sales in the country, with 35,000 units sold in 2016.
Figures from the Association of Automobile Dealers in Panama (ADAP) indicate that these three brands are the most commonly traded in the country. Capital.com.pa indicates that the Toyota brand"... leads the list with 42,249 vehicles sold in the last three years. In 2014 14,223 cars were sold and although in 2015 there was a drop in sales (13,642) they rebounded in 2016 and 14,384 cars were sold."
In 2014 60.304 new vehicles were sold, 7% more than in 2013, with Toyota, Hyundai and KIA being the top of the list of best selling brands.
According to the Automobile Dealers Association of Panama (ADAP), sales projections for 2014 were for 58,000 units, however, with the Panama Motor Show sales surpassed 60,000 units. It is expected that for 2015 growth will be around 2% to 4%.
Although the growth rate is still lower than in previous years, in the first ten months of the year 50,882 vehicles were sold, down 8% compared to the same period in 2013.
It is expected that by the end of 2014, 59, 000 new cars will have been sold throughout the year, which would surpass the sales of 2013, when 56,147 new units were sold.
Jose Carrion, president of the Automobile Dealers Association of Panama, told Panamaamerica.com.pa that "... Toyota was the number one selling brand in the first 10 months of the year, recording a total of 12,019 cars delivered, followed by Hyundai with 9,038 untis and Kia with 8,231 units sold. "
In the first eight months of the year car sales increased by 5% compared to the same period last year, a rate which is less than the growth in previous months.
The speed of growth in car sales in Panama continues to decline. Between January and August 38,034 vehicles were sold, which is just over the 36,190 units sold in the same period in 2013, according to data from the Association of Automobile Dealers in Panama (Adap).
In the first seven months of this year 33,245 new vehicles were sold, which is 4.7% more than in the same period last year, with Toyota, Hyundai and Kia's being the best-selling brands.
During the first seven months of this year 33,245 new vehicles were sold in the country, 4.7% more than the 31,745 units sold between January and July 2013, maintaining the dynamism of previous months.
In the first four months of the year 18,000 new cars were sold, 10% more than in the same period in 2013.
With the sale of 4,797 new vehicles between January and April 2014, Toyota ranks as the best-selling car brand in the country. In second place is Hyundai, with 3,245 units and in in third place Kia, with 2,917 vehicles sold.
"According to statistics from the Automobile Dealers Association of Panama (ADAP) ...
There is scope for increasing the number of vehicles per thousand inhabitants, which currently stands at 132.
A study by the World Bank ranked Panama as being in ninth place in a list of countries with the most cars from across the region. In the first 11 months of 2013, the automotive sector sold 51,569 vehicles, 6,086 more than in the same period of 2012, according to statistics from the Panama Dealers Authority (Adap).