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Car sales drop 23 percent in March
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Posted on Apr 02 2008
Vehicle sales may be down 23 percent last month, but the Commonwealth Auto Dealers Association believe the industry is still ahead of the curve as attested by year-to-date numbers.
According to the March sales and market share report of the association, automobile sales declined to 52 total unit sales last month from the 68 disposed of in the same period last year.
The 52 units were made up of 33 cars, five trucks, two vans, and 12 sports utility vehicles.
CADA secretary and Microl Corp. general manager Douglas Brennan is, however, unperturbed by the 23-percent decline in car sales.
“The good news is were not going down. We’re still in the level from last year’s numbers so probably we’ve reached the bottom. We’re actually 4.4 percent ahead of last year,” he said in a telephone interview with the Saipan Tribune yesterday.
Douglas pointed out that compared to last year’s January-March figures, CADA’s new vehicle sales are up by eight units during the first three months of 2008.
The March report from CADA showed that automobile sales in the first quarter of the current year have a total of 190 units, compared to 182 units sold during the same period in 2007.
The 190 units CADA’s members—Microl Corp., Joeten Motors, and Triple J Motors—sold consist of 100 cars, 18 trucks, 18 vans, 48 SUVs, and six in the “others” category.
Brennan, who was speaking in lieu of CADA president and Joeten Motors president Matt Deets, added that despite the down month in March, he thinks that the islands’ auto dealerships are finally close to seeing the end of the dark tunnel.
“I hope this [slide] has leveled off and CADA maintains this level in six to eight months and I anticipate the economy would finally solidify as the military buildup in Guam goes full steam. That’s what were hoping for,” he said.
Joeten Motors is the distributor for Nissan, Ford, Honda, and Kia. Microl Corp. sells Toyota and Chevrolet. Triple J Motors peddles Mazda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki.
