Saipan Tribune

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Friday, September 07, 2012

Vehicle sales up 86 percent in August

Automotive dealers posted an 86-percent surge in new vehicle sales in August compared to the same month last year, but Commonwealth Auto Dealers Association secretary Douglas Brennan said yesterday that most of the increase was a result of the low sales last year in the aftermath of the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disasters in Japan.

The three-member CADA sold 52 new cars, vans, trucks, and sports utility vehicles in August, up from only 28 sold during the same month last year.

Year-to-date sales are up 41 percent, from 284 last year to 400 this year.

Microl Corp., the local distributor of Toyota and Chevrolet, sold 29 or 56 percent of the total vehicles sold in August. Its year-to-date sales are up 89 percent, from 103 to 195.

Joeten Motors sold 14 new vehicles in August, a 56-percent increase from the same month last year. Between January and August, Joeten Motors sold 106 vehicles, a 3-percent increase from the 103 sold during the same period last year. Joeten Motors is the local dealer of Nissan, Ford, Honda, and Kia.

Triple “J” Motors, meanwhile, sold nine vehicles in August, down 25 percent from 12 during the same month last year. But its year-to-date sales are 27 percent up, from 78 to 99. Triple “J” Motors distributes Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Suzuki, and Mazda.

Of the 52 new vehicles sold in August, 22 were cars, 13 were SUVs, nine were trucks, and eight were vans.

Among cars, the most saleable in August was Toyota Corolla with eight sold, followed by Hyundai Elantra with four, and two each of Ford Fiesta and Toyota Venza.

The other cars sold in August were one each of Hyundai Accent, Kia Forte, Mazda3, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Yaris, and Toyota Prius.

Hyundai Tucson topped the SUV sales chart with three sold in August. Nissan Rogue and Toyota 4 Runner came second with two sold each.

The other SUVs sold in August were one each of Ford Explorer, Nissan Murano, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Highlander, Toyota RAV4, and Toyota Sequoia.

Of the nine trucks sold in August, seven were Toyota Tacoma and two were Nissan Frontier.

Toyota Sienna sold the most number of vans in August with five, followed by Ford E-Van with two, and Nissan Quest, one.

CADA also sold 19 used vehicles, bringing to 160 the total sold between January and August.