Honda Center, a service shop located in Guatemala City's Zone 10, has a potential market of 93 thousand consumers between the ages of 25 and 60 years old, of which 66% are interested in vehicle-related topics, within a 15-minute drive.
Using the Geomarketing solutions we have developed for our clients, CentralAmericaData's Business Intelligence team analyzed the environment of some of the main automotive repair shop locations operating in Central American countries. Below is an excerpt of the study's findings.
After registering increases in the number of imported vehicles in November and December, car dealers in Costa Rica expect that this 2020 will reinforce the positive trend.
According to data from the Ministry of Finance in November last year, 4152 vehicles were imported into the country, a figure that exceeds by 12% that registered in the same month of 2018.
Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua are the Central American markets which reported reductions in sales of new and used vehicles during 2018.
According to figures from the Ministry of Finance of Costa Rica, from January to November 2018 imports of new vehicles totaled 31,008 units, and used vehicles 17,134 units, registering falls of 12% and 23% respectively compared to the first eleven months of 2017.
In the first half of 2017, the Treasury department recorded the entry of 27,315 units, 10% less than the 30,290 registered in the same period last year.
Although several vehicle distribution agencies claim to have recorded increases in their sales during the first half of the year, in general the market has decelerated compared to the same period in 2016.
In the first ten months of the year distribution agencies report having sold 2,115 units.
The companies who are member of the Association of Importers of Vehicles and Equipment (Aivema) reported increases of between 4.6% and 10% in imports of trucks in recent years, in a market with a high level of competition.
In the first five months of the year nearly 36 thousand vehicles came into the country, 26% more than in the same period in 2015 and 24% more motorcycles.
Of the 35,690 vehicles that entered the country between January and May 2016, 72% were new units, and the rest were used.In the same period, the country imported 32 thousand new motorcycles.
The Costa Rican Automotive company has acquired a car dealership in Dallas, bringing the number of subsidiaries of the company operating out of Costa Rica to five.
The new branch in Texas, was born under the brand Atkinson Toyota South Dallas and is dedicated to marketing Toyota and Scion brands of cars. Purdy Motor plans to continue expanding its operations primarily in North America.
The tax exemption enjoyed by these vehicles is one of the factors driving their sales in the country, where three agencies are now marketing them and two are preparing their market entry.
Dealerships that have ventured into selling hybrid vehicles in recent years say the rise in sales is mainly due to these types of cars being exempt from vehicle restrictions in force in the country and because they only pay 10% of the selective consumption tax instead of 30% paid by conventional vehicles.
34,000 new cars came into the country in 2014, the highest figure in the last ten years, leaving used cars imports far behind, having registered a total of 18,000 units.
At the end of 2014, 52,344 new and used vehicles were imported, representing an increase of 12% compared to the previous year. Of this total, 65% corresponded to imports of new vehicles.
During 2013 the import of used vehicles in Costa Rica declined by 45%, the biggest drop since the 2009 crisis.
Importing used cars has ceased to be a business in Costa Rica. Last year the entry of used vehicles into the country declined by 45%, the strongest decline since the 2009 crisis.
Credit facilities provided by banks and the "new rules for the import sector in relation to the tax value of the units, odometers (mileage meter), total losses and new security devices have all affected sales."
The selective consumption tax charged on hybrid cars has dropped from 15% to 10%.
Among the reasons explaining the low penetration of hybrid vehicles in the Costa Rican market is the amount of taxes that are charged.
"New hybrid-electric vehicles under tariff headings 8703 and 8704, with cylinders not exceeding 2,000 cubic centimeters, will be able to benefit from a 20% reduction in the selective consumption tax," states the new provision.
The market share of Chinese brands has recently reached 2.8%, but is growing rapidly, based on lower prices than traditional brands.
Car imports from China grew by 197% up to September 2012 compared with the 2011 figures.
Despite the rebound, China still represents a very small number of the total imports, 2.8%, equivalent to $12.5 million. From Japan, the country from which most of the cars were imported up to September last year, the figure was $147 million.
The Toyota distributor in Costa Rica is expanding in the U.S. market through the acquisition of two car dealerships in Texas.
Purdy Motor, besides being one of the leading automotive dealerships Costa Rica, has already been operating in Mexico since 2005, with a car dealership in Saltillo.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that Purdy acquired all of the assets and properties of two car dealerships in Bryan and Madisonville Texas, that is to say "two properties, the one in Bryan measuring 41,700 meters square and the one in Madisonville 23,400 square meters. In both places they are able to expand (by about 40,000 square meters) and the Costa Rican company plans to do so especially in the region of Bryan where they are close to a highway that has grown with hotels, gas stations, and is 90 minutes to Houston airport. "
Grupo Q claims that it has won first place in Costa Rica, with its sales of the Hyundai brand, but Purdy Motors, with the Japanese Toyota says it maintains its leadership in sales.
The engines are roaring with contention after the importer Grupo Q, from El Salvador, announced that with its auto sales of the Korean brand Hyundai in 2011, it has become the number one seller in Costa Rica.