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Car sales are up
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Posted on Jul 09 2021
Car sales in the CNMI is up 21% and the trend is making up for lost sales in 2020 when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March last year.
According to Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Joe Guerrero, this is a sign of increasing consumer confidence.
“Being in the car industry for over five years some years ago, the movement of car sales always came down to consumer confidence, …21% is a good number, especially coming from last year and while still in a pandemic. …Consumer confidence is a good barometer that people are feeling confident, optimistic about their own financial situation,” he said.
“Usually people are not sure if they want to take that risk—calculating job prospects, continued employment, and commitment to pay for the car in a span of five years is a big jump…and with the percentage going up, people are making car purchases,” he said.
Federal money and the growing percentage of people getting vaccinated are enabling the community and businesses to return to pre-pandemic activities, including increased purchasing power.
As of Wednesday, the COVID-19 Task Force announced that 66.4% of people ages 12 years old and older have received their first dose of the vaccine and the number is expected to rise in the coming weeks, with a projection of hitting 70% by September.
“In the U.S. mainland, home sales is the barometer for the outlook of the economy. Everybody looks for a new home or refinancing. In the CNMI, not a lot of people buy homes and that is understandable because we have been through economic challenges over the years, that’s why people would rather put their money on a business, investments, or buy a car,” Guerrero said.
“Car sales co-relates very well with [taxes] and collection that is good for the economy in general. Car sales going up is a good sign. …Is it a sign of a healing economy? Yes, and that’s how it has always been historically. I used to run the numbers because I was a part of auto dealerships and we would track GDP and other metrics with car sales. …It is a good trend that economic activities are increasing,” Guerrero added.
