Hawaii auto sales continue to plateau as the state appears headed toward its first decline after seven straight years of increases.
New-vehicle registrations ticked up 1.2 percent in the second quarter but were down 1.6 percent at midyear with potential potholes down the road, according to a quarterly report released Wednesday by Hawaii Auto Outlook.
“Strong economic growth, rising employment and increasing incomes have helped keep new-vehicle sales at elevated levels,” wrote Jeff Foltz, editor of Hawaii Auto Outlook. “Some potential storm clouds are on the horizon, however. Negative fallout from tariffs, rising interest rates and inflationary pressures are concerns for the market.”
Hawaii is now forecast
to end this year with 58,750 registrations, down from 59,137 in 2017 and just 265 more than the 58,485 in 2016, according to the report. Those numbers are more or less flat compared with five years ago when there were 48,705 registrations.
Sales should remain above average for the next two years, the report said.
While new-vehicle registrations can be representative of auto sales, the two don’t always align because a buyer can purchase a vehicle one month and register it in another month. The data are based on county Department of Motor Vehicles registrations.
There were 29,258 registrations in the first six months of the year compared with 29,740 in the year-earlier period. Numbers were mixed among
the islands. Hawaii island registrations were up
6.3 percent and Kauai gained 3.9 percent. Maui was down 3.8 percent and Oahu was off 2.9 percent.
Statewide, second-quarter registrations rose to 14,799 from 14,629.
Hawaii’s slowing vehicle market is following the national trend, which saw new registrations drop 0.4 percent during the first half
of the year.
The light-trucks category, which includes vans, SUVs and pickups, easily retained its popularity over cars in Hawaii during the first six months of 2018 despite
regular gas prices increasing roughly 70 cents statewide from the year-earlier period. The market share for light trucks at midyear was
67.2 percent, up from
63.4 percent in the year-earlier period. Cars represented
32.8 percent of the market in the first six months of 2018.
Light trucks have exploded in popularity during recent years due to stable gas prices, which have spurred potential buyers to seek out vehicles with additional cabin room for passengers and storage, as well as a higher seat position that allows the driver to see the road better.
Toyota and Honda were the top two brands in
Hawaii during the first half of the year with market shares of 26.9 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively. Nissan (9.6 percent), Ford (6.4 percent) and Chevrolet
(6.2 percent) rounded out the top five.
The combined hybrid/electric vehicle share in the state was 6.5 percent during the second quarter. The Toyota Prius and Nissan Leaf were the best-sellers through June in that combined category. The report did not break out the top hybrid/electric vehicles for only the second quarter.
