Car sales rose 14.7% during 2013

Vehicle sales continued to rise in Hawaii last year.

The 48,766 vehicle registrations in 2013 were up 14.7 percent from 2012, according to the just-released Hawaii Auto Outlook report.

Hawaii’s 14.7 jump beat the 9 percent increase nationwide.

Sales and registrations of about 50,000 a year indicate that "things are running like a smoothly running motor," said Dave Rolf, executive director of the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association, which commissions the report each quarter.

The number of cars that are crushed and recycled each year number about 50,000, "so there’s a great deal of symmetry in the industry," he said.

Hawaii’s vehicle registration statistics are again approaching that level, which was the norm at the beginning of the millenium with sales of 51,500, 51,388 and 53,314 in 2000, 2001 and 2002, respectively.

Sales began skyrocketing and peaked at 70,268 in 2005, before bottoming out in 2009 at 33,639, after the economic collapse.

Positive automotive news, coupled with a growing construction industry and solid hotel industry revenues "cause some celebration, because people are back to work," Rolf said.

Japanese models led the way with 62.1 percent of all vehicle registrations in 2013, up 0.8 percent from 2012.

Domestic brands made up 20.3 percent of vehicle registrations, up 1.2 percent from 2012, representing the largest increase in market share for 2013.

While registrations of European and Korean brands were up for the year, market share for both declined. Registrations for European models rose 3.5 percent for the year, but at 10.9 percent, the segment’s market share dropped 1.2 percent from 12.1 percent a year ago. Sales of Korean-made vehicles also rose, by 2.6 percent from 2012, but market share dipped 0.8 percent, to 6.7 percent from 7.5 in 2012.

The domestic brands are now less focused on trucks, which is reflected in their offering "better products in the marketplace that represents more of what’s sold here," observed Stan Masamitsu, president of Tony Hawaii Automotive Group Ltd.

Masamitsu cited growth in the numerous crossover vehicles, or "cars that look like SUVs," as well as growing sales of compact crossovers, such as the Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape.

It was no surprise to him that Asian brands have retained their market dominance in Hawaii, because "this is one of the most import-oriented markets in the country, along with maybe, California," he said. Hawaii has shorter driving distances, smaller parking stalls and expensive gas, making smaller vehicles more attractive to Hawaii drivers.

Toyota maintained its market dominance in Hawaii with 25.6 percent of the market in registrations of cars and light trucks.

Honda was next, at 10.6 percent, while Nissan was the third-most popular Japanese brand in Hawaii in 2013, with a market share of 10.1 percent.

Registrations of hybrid and electric vehicles are up 21.2 percent year-over-year.

Hybrids and electric vehicles "are nice,"Masamitsu said, "but they’re not for everybody … and there’s a lot of other, less-publicized energy saving technology integrated into (gas-fueled) cars that are quite exciting," he said. "Ithink people want the kind of technology that makes their cars more convenient, but also to make them more efficient."

New automotive technologies from rear-view cameras, lane-departure warning systems, blind-spot sensors and forward collision warning systems are innovations "I think people are very curious about and willing to pay for,"Masamitsu said.

Cars composed 50.8 percent of the 48,766 vehicle registrations in 2013, while 49.2 percent were light trucks, which includes pickup trucks, vans and SUVs. Light trucks formerly led market share by a slight margin.

"There was a shift for a while as we moved toward $4 (a gallon) gas, we moved to smaller, compact vehicles, Rolf said.

"That showed up on the Auto Show floor," as increasing numbers of people inquired about four-door sedans instead of the larger vehicles, he said.

"Now that gas prices have stabilized, and probably will continue to be stable, you see that market returning, though most of that return in truck sales is reflected by (the number of) construction workers employed," he said.

The Hawaii Auto Outlook forecast for 2014 projects auto sales of 51,500 vehicles, but also projects that negative economic factors will cap new vehicle sales by 2015.

"That’s not what our projections are showing," Rolf said, adding that the trade group’s own modeling shows that the market will not taper off heavily next year.

The Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association will hold its annual First Hawaiian International Auto Show March 14-16 at the Hawai’i Convention Center.