New car sales up 17.6% in state last year
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
New auto sales in Hawai'i smashed a 14-year record last year, buoyed by strong job and income growth along with strong incentive programs.
Statewide new retail vehicle registrations jumped 17.6 percent to 62,712 units, which easily topped the record of 57,456 vehicles sold in 1989. That helped increase the total number of vehicles registered in Hawai'i to 1,008,826 — the first time the number of autos in the state has topped 1 million, according to the City and County of Honolulu.
"It's pretty enormous growth," said Dave Rolf, executive director of the Hawaii Automotive Dealers Association, which released the 2003 sales figures.
As new auto sales grew strongly statewide, the number of new registrations nationally dipped by 2.1 percent. Unlike the Mainland, where manufacturing and technology industries remain in the doldrums, Hawai'i's tourism- and construction-based economy experienced strong job growth last year. With those gains comes the consumer confidence needed to commit to a big-ticket new-car purchase, Rolf said.
"People are feeling comfortable about purchasing new vehicles," he said.
Other factors motivating car buyers are new features and gadgets along with a bevy of incentives such as zero-percent financing and cash rebates.
"That's going to drive a lot of business," said Gary Wassel, general manager for Jones-Reed Hawaii Auto Group's O'ahu operations. "People who were not in the marketplace are all of a sudden in buying."
The top-five selling new cars in Hawai'i last year were the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Honda Accord and the Nissan Altima. The top-five selling light trucks were the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, Ford F-Series, Dodge Ram and the Ford Explorer.
The Hawai'i dealers group forecasts 7.2 percent growth in new auto sales this year.
"I think every one of us would say 'give us 2003 all over again,' " Wassel said. But "if there were 4 to 5 percent growth this year, we'd all be just tickled."
Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.
