New vehicle registrations in the state surged 24 percent in the third quarter versus the same period a year ago, reflecting economic strength, according to a report released Monday.
Hawaii car sales were almost double the national increase of 13.3 percent.
The local numbers are "great for the auto dealers and great for the whole community," said Dave Rolf, executive director of the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association, for which the Hawaii Auto Outlook report is prepared.
The Honda Civic is Hawaii’s top-selling car, while market leader Toyota has the best-selling light truck, the Tacoma, a perennial leader in that market segment.
In order, the Civic, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Prius were the top-selling cars in Hawaii during the quarter, while the Tacoma, Honda CRV and the Ford F-Series are the top sellers in the light truck category.
"Honda sales overall are up about 40 percent for 2013 versus 2012," said Larry Moody, general sales manager of Tony Honda in Waipio.
An improving economy is one reason Moody gives for the brand’s increased sales. Secondly, "Honda has really worked hard to get more inventory into the state," following recovery from the tsunami in Japan. The company also upgraded its cars’ technological features and made other improvements after the 2012 Civic was dropped from Consumer Reports’ annual list of recommended vehicles.
Now, however, "the product itself has improved substantially," Moody said.
Kauai County led the state through the first three quarters of the year with a 23.7 percent uptick in year-over-year new vehicle registrations. Hawaii County showed a 21.5 percent increase, Maui County showed a 17.8 percent increase and Oahu’s increase was the lowest at 15.9 percent, year over year.
Sales of alternative energy vehicles such as hybrids and electrics were at 2,644 through the third quarter of the year, just 100 units shy of the 2,744 sold during all of 2012.
Hawaii car-buyers seem to favor hybrids over plug-in electric vehicles, as 2,044 hybrids have sold versus the 600 electrics sold year-to-date. However, the 600 electric vehicles sold in the first nine months of the year are nearly double the 341 sold in all of 2012, according to R.L. Polk & Co. data cited in Hawaii Auto Outlook. Alternatives now represent slightly more than 7 percent of the Hawaii vehicle market, compared with 3.9 percent nationally.
At the higher end of the electric vehicle scale, EV maker Tesla stepped up production of its Model S in 2013 at a base price of just under $50,000 after federal tax incentives of as much as $7,500. Forty-three Tesla vehicles were registered in the third quarter of 2013 in Hawaii. Year-to-date there have been 137 Tesla registrations versus zero in 2012, but it is unclear whether all were S models. Tesla accounts for 0.3 percent of Hawaii’s vehicle market, versus market leader Toyota with 24.9 percent in the third quarter.
Hawaii’s auto industry hit a low of 33,639 vehicles of all types sold in 2009, following the economic collapse of the previous year.
"When it dropped so precipitously … we just didn’t know if (sales) would ever return to normal," Rolf said. HADA views normal as sales of around 50,000 vehicles per year.
"We’re seeing the economy rebound, and financing being so attractive, that lo and behold it is 2013 and we’re sitting just about at normal," with projected sales of about 49,500 units, he said.
The report forecasts continued sales growth this year for a total year-over-year increase of 16.5 percent over 2012 and projects an 8 percent increase next year, with slower growth in the following several years.
