The Hawaii Auto Dealers Association, a trade group that represents 54 car sellers statewide, said that 41,480 new cars and trucks were sold by dealers last year, up from 1995's 41,083.
"This is pretty positive in light of Hawaii's economic situation and the job losses here for the past five years," said Eric Miyasaki, chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Corp. in Hawaii which prepared the HADA report.
Much of last year's gain came from truck sales, which rose 15.2 percent to 7,525 from 1995's 6,532, HADA said. Retail car sales declined 1.7 percent to 33,955 from last year's 34,551 due fewer sales of import models.
Fleet sales, meanwhile, fell 13.1 percent to 27,285 from 1995's 31,443. Fleet sales generally represent new car registrations by rental car agencies but do not reflect sales to local consumers. This category has declined sharply during the past five years as rental agencies are holding onto their models much longer than they did in past years.
Hardy Hutchinson, HADA manager, said the local car business continues to face considerable difficulties due to Hawaii's struggling economy. Hutchinson noted that dealers' profit margins have declined during the past several years. Consumer confidence also has lagged as the mainstay of Hawaii's economy, tourism, has struggled.
"The health of our dealerships are entirely dependent on the tourism," Hutchinson said. "If tourism takes a nose dive, we take a nose dive."
For the fourth quarter, retail sales of new vehicles declined 8 percent, according to HADA. During the three months ending Dec. 31, retail car and truck sales fell 8 percent to 10,240 from fourth quarter 1995's 11,132, HADA said.
Most of the quarterly decline was a result of lower import sales. Retail sales of foreign-made cars and trucks slipped 16.4 percent to 5,118 from fourth quarter 1995's 6,119. Retail sales of domestic vehicles rose 2.2 percent to 5,122 during the recently ended quarter from the year-earlier's 5,013.
Miyasaki attributed the quarterly results to the continued weak economy and to bad weather conditions that kept many consumers away from new car lots.
Added Hutchinson: "It's still tough out there."
