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 this scenario of economic crisis, the Nicaraguan market reported a 25% decrease in the balance of the vehicle loan portfolio between December 2019 and September 2020.
Data from the Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Siboif) detail that at the end of last year the balance of the loan portfolio requested to buy a vehicle amounted to $199 million, but in this context of falling productive activity generated by the outbreak of covid-19, the balance recorded as of September 2020 fell to $149 million.
After reporting the sale of only 96 vehicles in May, due to the quarantine decreed by the covid-19 outbreak, in July the figure rose to 1,112, in August to 1,398 and in September to 2,403 units.
The General Comptroller of the Republic has been reporting that in the context of restrictions to commercial activity due to the health emergency, sales have fallen considerably, since between September 2019 and the same month in 2020, the number of new units registered in the country decreased by 29%, from 3,408 to 2,403.
In the countries of Central America, more than 21 million people are looking to buy a vehicle online, and of this consumer segment, close to 4% explore options for acquiring a Suzuki brand car.
CentralAmericaData's interactive information system monitors in real time the changes in consumer habits in all markets in the region, with fundamental information to understand the current commercial environment in which companies from all industries must operate.
During the first seven months of the year, 26,188 vehicles were imported to El Salvador, of which 18% were new units and 82% were used. Second-hand cars are still in demand in this new business scenario.
According to representatives of the Association of Vehicle and Automotive Parts Importers (Asiversa), the demand for used vehicles has been maintained in this context of economic crisis, but sales have fallen due to the drop in prices.
After vehicle sales practically disappeared due to the decreed quarantine, the distributors in El Salvador begin to notice an incipient reactivation of the market, which is explained by the demand for units for commercial use.
Months ago CentralAmericaData predicted the behavior that is currently confirmed by vehicle distributors in El Salvador.
Authorities announced that as of August 17, construction, internet retail, vehicle sales, barber shops and beauty salons will be allowed to resume.
Due to the covid-19 outbreak, the Panamanian government has postponed on several occasions the reactivation of productive activities in the country, but after the Cabinet Council and the health advisory teams made an analysis of the current situation, it has been decided to reopen some economic sectors.
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 Guatemala since April 12, interactions in the digital environment associated with the purchase of vehicles has rebounded; however, in April and May, prices of cars and pickups grew more slowly compared to the number reportes on the first quarter of the year.
Through a system that monitors in real time changes in price levels, interests and consumer preferences in Central American countries, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different products, sectors and markets operating in the region.
Focusing on increasing income from after-sales services and making alliances with banks to offer better financing conditions are some of the strategies that car dealers in Panama intend to implement in this new reality.
Representatives of Ricardo Perez S.A., a Toyota brand distributor in the country, believe that because the purchase of a vehicle represents the second most important financial transaction in a family, the automotive sector will be seriously affected in this context of the spread of covid-19.
Making alliances with factories, applying distance protocols at points of service and encouraging the use of digital platforms are some of the strategies that have begun to be implemented by new vehicle distributors in the region.
Managers of Grupo Q, a company that operates 40 salesrooms in Central America, explained that given the spread of covid-19 and the restriction of consumer mobility, they are working to deepen alliances with factories and achieve a comprehensive chain of savings in different areas.
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.
The company "MICARRO SV" is accused of not delivering the vehicles to a group of consumers who had already paid for them.
The consumers "paid large sums of money" to the company Inversiones Latinoamericanas, S.A. de C.V., (COINVERLAT, S.A. de C.V.) and Cristian Javier Pineda Reyes, who operated the company "MICARRO SV", reported the Consumer Defense Office.
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.
During the first 11 months of 2019, 2,421 luxury vehicles were sold in Panama, a figure 8% higher than that reported for the same period in 2018.
According to the most recent report from the General Comptroller of the Republic, between January and November 2018 and the same period in 2019, in general the number of units registered in the country fell slightly, from 45,896 to 44,101.