Panama Vehicles Market in 2015 hit the new all time record albeit shy second half, posting the third record in a row. The leader Toyota has now been approached by two challengers, Hyundai and Kia.
Economic Outlook
The Panamanian economy expanded 5.6% over the same quarter of the previous year in Q3, which marked a slight deceleration from Q2’s 5.8% growth. Growth in Q3 was driven by a notable expansion in the industrial sector, while the all-important service sector tallied modest growth as international commerce and trade in the Colon Free Trade Zone was constrained by subdued demand from Panama’s trading partners.
Meanwhile, the legal disputes between the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and GUPC—the four-company consortium expanding the Canal—have not dissipated. GUPC accused the ACP of recurring payment delays and stated that the expansion could be further delayed until October if the ACP fails to deliver the latest USD 190 million payment installment.
Despite this panorama, the Panamanian president reiterated that he expects the expanded Canal to be inaugurated in May.
Market Outlook
Following the extraordinary performance scored in the first half when the market boomed 28%, during the second half of the year the consumer’s demand suddenly disappeared and the market tumbled down 8% .
Consequently during the entire 2015 data reported by the A.D.A.P., the Asociación de Distribuidores de Automóviles de Panamá, had been still positive but with a more moderate 8.5% from the previous year, with 64.737 vehicles sold, representing the new ALL TIME RECORD for the industry.
The market leader was Toyota with 13.642 sales (-4.1%) with the Koreans growing challenging the leadership with Hyundai second with 11.621 sales (+9.2%) and Kia third with 10.575 (+9.7%).
However the top performer of the year was Mazda that grew 191%, better than Suzuki, 5th and up 66%.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for Top Brands
