Posted on: Friday, February 18, 2005

State's new vehicles up 5.1 percent

Advertiser Staff

New vehicle registrations statewide rose by 5.1 percent to 65,882 vehicles last year, according to a report issued by the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association.

The increase was led by registrations of light trucks, which surged 10.4 percent to 39,187. Registrations of cars fell 2.0 percent to 26,695.

The group is forecasting overall registrations to slow slightly this year to 64,363 vehicles.

Nationally, new vehicle registrations fell by less than 1 percent in 2004.

The report showed that the statewide market share for Big Three American automakers in 2004 dropped 1.7 percentage points to 29.2 percent.

The Toyota Camry was the best-selling mid-size car statewide, according to the report.

The percentage growth in new vehicles sales in Hawai'i now has exceeded the national average for three consecutive years, HADA said.

The report also showed that Kia posted the biggest increase in registrations in 2004, rising 51 percent from the previous year. Cadillac was second, with a 35.4 percent increase in registrations due largely to the popularity of its sport utility vehicle.