August 2002: Carmania in Puerto Rico
Trends in the Puerto Rican Car Market
As of 2001, there were over two million motor vehicles registered in Puerto Rico, equivalent to 1.7 persons per vehicle. According to industry experts, Puerto Rico is a perfect place to introduce new products. Although sales of new vehicles have grown at an annual rate of 1% between 1995 and 2001, the levels of the last two years exceeded those of 1995. Despite an economic slowdown, local consumers bought 123,000 new units, similar to the level of 2000. Find out why the love affair of Puerto Ricans with cars. How is the car market distributed among car makes? Will this trend be sustainable in light of the new car excise taxes, effective July 2002?