In the month of January 2023, a total of 9,505 new car units were sold in Puerto Rico, an -8.7% decrease when compared to January 2022, according to data from the United Group of Automobile Importers (GUIA, for its Spanish acronym). Car sales have been down for three months and are the lowest for a month of January since 2020.
According to José R. Ordeix, president of GUIA, this decrease is in line with problems like the lack of inventory or some models and the increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve Bank.
The biggest drops in sales were the vans segment, with a decrease of 51.2% compared to last year, followed by mini compacts and “crossovers” with a decrease of 48.7% and 26.7%, respectively.
Japanese and Korean models decreased in sales while US brands increased 1.1% and European models increased by 11%. The top 5 models sold were, in order, RAV4, Venue, Corolla, Outlander Sport and Corolla cross.
In 2022, new car sales ended the year with a -4.3% decrease in sales, to 123,604 vehicles. By 2023, GUIA anticipates that 118,000 cars will be sold, 4.5% less.
