Between 2009 and 2013 the number of Chinese vehicles in the Costa Rican Public Registry multiplied by 9.
In the last five years, Chinese vehicles went from 0.3% of new cars registered in the country to 2.2% in 2013, according to the National Registry Office.
Between January and October 2013 car dealers sold 46,983 new vehicles, more than the 6,379 cars sold in the same period of 2012.
The top selling brands include Hyundai, Toyota and Kia. The first had a growth of 9% between January and October, while Toyota and Kia sales increased by 23% and 35% respectively, compared with the previous year.
Between January and July 2013 car dealerships sold 31,745 new cars while in the same period of 2012 the figure was 27,142.
The statistics were supplied by the Automobile Dealers Association of Panama (ADAP). During the first months of 2013 more than 4,603 cars were sold than in the same period in 2012.
In the first quarter of 2013, 17,105 cars were sold , ie 2,296 more than in the same period in 2012.
Prensa.com reports that "this represents an increase of 16% as from January to April 2012 14,809 units were sold, according to statistics from the Automobile Dealers Association of Panama (ADAP)".
Payment of the bonus raises expectations of better sales in cars and electronic equipment.
Jose Cofino, marketing manager at Volkswagen, said it expects a 30% increase in sales during July, while according to Cofiño Stahl, distributor for Toyota, "July is one of the best months," because the “14” bonus helps people pay the deposit, which in past years resulted in sales increases of 20%.
On June 23rd, Cofiño Stahl, the Toyota distributor in Guatemala will officially launch the hybrid vehicle Toyota Prius.
More than 1.2 million Toyota Prius´ have been sold in 40 countries since it was introduced to the market in 1997, breaking the world record for the sale of vehicles in the hybrid category.
February closed with the sale of 2,769 new cars, but 3,394 units were sold during the same period in 2008.
This represents the lowest figure in the last 12 months.
Journalist Manuel Luna wrote in laestrella.com.pa: "Luxury brands were affected such as Mercedes Benz where 23 cars were sold in January and only 15 were sold in February, while Lexus went from 20 to 8 cars sold.
The Ricardo Perez S.A. agency announced that it will sell the car in the market starting in 2009.
The Toyota Prius has beaten the world record in sales for this category, selling more than one million units in the US, Europe, and Japan where it was first sold.
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