Latest news with #HawaiiAutomobileDealersAssociation
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New vehicle prices going up as tariff about to start for foreign manufacturers
HONOLLU (KHON2) — Local car dealerships and mechanics have a lot of questions and concerns as a new tariff is about to start, but one thing they say is clear – prices are going up. Hawaii fentanyl deaths quadrupled in 4 years, experts warn of more potent version Shopping for a new car is going to get more expensive. A 25-percent tariff on all imported cars and car parts is set to start April 3. The current base rate for tariffs on imports is 2.5 percent 'I'm not familiar with all of the existing taxes and tariffs, but I do know this new 25-percent tariff on imported vehicles and parts is expected to send prices here in Hawaii higher for new car vehicles,' said Melissa Pavlicek, Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association Executive Director. That has Hawaii auto dealers concerned considering new car sales have been dropping in recent years. And the fact that more than 75-percent of the vehicles sold in Hawaii are made in a foreign country. 'A auto dealers are going to try to address consumer needs no matter what is happening,' said Pavlicek. 'There are new and used vehicles in Hawaii. And so there shouldn't be any kind of panic buying.'It's still not clear how the tariffs will affect the prices of specific brands and specific cars. One, the US Department of Transportation says all cars have some parts that are made overseas, and two, almost all manufacturers have a mix of cars made here in the US and overseas. The only company that is strictly made in the US is Tesla. Of course with parts prices going up, repairs are going to jump as well. 'It's gonna be brutal, and it's all the way across the board,' said Frank Yuen, K & Y Auto Service. 'I mean it goes from tires, automotive parts, every part, spark plugs, coils.' 'It's not just the tariffs,' said Yuen. 'You got the property tax, everything around here is just going crazy. So you paying extra labor, you paying extra this, extra that because everything is going up.' Since dealers have inventory on island, it's not known exactly when buyers will start seeing the increase. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news 'We definitely are monitoring the situation, but there will always be efforts to make cars affordable for Hawaii residents,' said Pavlicek. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Hawaii auto sales could see uptick after falling in 2024
Auto sales in Hawaii ran out of gas and fell 3.2 % in 2024, but this year's outlook is seen as promising yet fraught with uncertainty. New-vehicle registrations, coming off their third consecutive down year, are expected to rise 2.4 % to 46, 200, according to a fourth-quarter report released recently from Hawaii Auto Outlook. However, Jeffrey Foltz, editor of the report, cautioned that potential changes in government policies threaten that outlook. Foltz said possible tax cuts, an increase in tariffs and reductions in the labor force due to deportations could hover over the automobile market. 'Most economists agree that collectively, these policy initiatives would accelerate inflation, potentially reversing recent improvements in affordability, ' Foltz said in the report, which is produced for the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association. 'Despite these potential negatives, we think a strong labor market and pent-up demand accumulated during five years of below-average sales should be sufficient to push the market higher in 2025.' Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. State auto sales declined in 2024 to 45, 104 from 46, 593 in the previous 12 months. The drop-off follows on the heels of a 2.5 % decline in 2023 and a 12.5 % fall in 2022. On an encouraging note, however, sales inched up 1.8 % in the fourth quarter. Sales were down for the year on each of the four major islands : off 18.8 % on Kauai, down 6.6 % on Hawaii island, weaker by 3.9 % on Maui and down 1 % on Oahu. The state's overall performance fell short of the U.S. market, where auto sales rose 3.1 % for 2024. New-vehicle registrations can be representative of auto sales, but the two don't always align because a buyer can purchase a vehicle one month and register it in another. The data is based on county Department of Motor Vehicles registrations. Hybrid vehicles continued making progress in the state amid Hawaii's goal to achieve 100 % clean energy by 2045. New hybrid vehicle registrations increased 34 % from a year ago and hybrid's market share reached 11.3 % compared with 8.2 % in 2023. Meanwhile, battery electric vehicle registrations had a 14 % market share in 2024 versus 13.2 % a year earlier, and plug-in hybrids' market share was 2 % compared with 1.6 % in 2023. Toyota was the bestselling brand in 2024 with a 27.6 % market share, followed by Honda at 12.6 %, Tesla at 8 %, Ford at 6.5 % and Nissan at 6 %. The market share for the top-selling models in the state were To yota Tacoma, 7.4 %; Tesla Model Y, 5.3 %; Toyota RAV4, 4.5 %; Toyota 4Runner, 4.1 %; and To yota Corolla, 3.4 %. Light trucks—which include vans, SUVs and pickups—maintained their large lead over cars with a 77.7 % market share versus 22.3 % for cars. Consumers continue to opt for larger vehicles because of more visibility, additional room for storage and stable gas prices.
