Reporter/MMJ
A report released today shows both new car and electric vehicle sales are down in Hawaii.
HONOLULU (KITV4) – The market for brand new cars in Hawaii is cooling off. The latest report shows new car sales island-wide is down by 14% compared to last year at this time.
Nationally, sales are down by almost 17%.
“Our whole market has taken a dip, from electric vehicles to truck sales and everyday vehicles, due to rising interest rates,” said Guy Mello, general sales manager at Windward Ford.
Windward Ford in Kailua told KITV4 their new car sales declined by 25% in the past two to three months.
Full-sized trucks have taken the biggest hit because many residents are buying smaller, compact cars and trucks.
“We’re not able to get the microchip for instance and because of that, we’re not able to produce electric vehicles as high as the demand is,” said Mello.
However, used car dealerships are experiencing the opposite. Finance manager at Auto X-Change on Kalakaua Avenue said business is flourishing.
They specialize in recently used luxury cars which they say is the next best option.
“Since there’s not a lot of cars being made at the moment due to some chip shortage, many more residents are leaning to used cars because they don’t want to wait for over a year for a brand new car to come in,” said Ng Antonio, finance manager at Auto X-Change, Inc.
Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association officials stated it is difficult to predict the impact of supply chain issues – that the microchip shortage hurt production much more than expected.
However, unless less there is a large economic downfall, the market should go back up in the next year.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
HILO, Hawaii (KITV4) — A Hilo man was arrested on multiple counts, following a crime spree around the Big Island over an eleven-day period.
Reporter/MMJ
Shanila is an MMJ at KITV4 with a specialization in investigative journalism. She is an Atlanta native and an NYU graduate.
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