The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

BAHAMIAN auto dealers are nervously waiting to see whether seemingly-heightened buyer interest at last weekend's Car Show will translate into increased sales, one yesterday saying it had seen a 100 per cent year-over-year increase in "proposed" deals.

Rick Lowe, a director/operations manager at Nassau Motor Company (NMC), the Honda and Chevrolet dealer, said that with Bahamas Motor Dealers Association (BMDA) generally feeling potential buyers seemed "more serious" than in the past several years, it was now down to the industry to turn enhanced interest into increased sales.

"If we go by proposals written, we doubled the amount we wrote last year," Mr Lowe told Tribune Business of NMC's Car Show performance.

" Most of the dealers took deposits or had committed clients. Everything seems like it's headed in the right direction, and we've just got to close it out over the next four weeks."

Mr Lowe said the Bahamian new car industry received a significant year-over-year boost following the 2011 Car Show, with combined sales for the months of March and April up 27.4 per cent over their 2010 comparatives.

A similar increase for March-April 2012, he suggested, would certainly indicate the sector was "on the road to recovery".

Yet Mr Lowe warned: "We may get a bounce, but I don't think it's going to be that great. Still, I think it [the Car Show] went quite well. Everyone seems quite pleased. It's just a matter of closing the sales.

"Everybody had the feeling that the buyers were more serious. Maybe it's to the point where people have no choice, because they've been holding off, holding off. They are now realising that things are not changing, their car is dropping to pieces, and they have to do something.

"Everyone felt the buyers were much more serious than in the last couple of years, and we should get some favourable results. It's been four years of grit and determination to try and get through, maybe going on five."

Less optimistic was Ben Albury, general manager at Bahamas Bus & Truck, who told Tribune Business that Car Show proposals written by the dealership were down by comparison with 2011. Noting that the macroeconomic climate had changed little, he suggested that the impending general election had prompted Bahamians to "sit on the fence" when it came to major investment and expenditure opportunities.

And Mr Albury added that compared to the new car industry's pre-recession peak years, when Bahamas Bus & Truck could expect to sell 30-40 vehicles during the Car Show and its immediate aftermath, the company had seen such sales drop by 75-84 per cent.

"When things were booming we could sell 30-40 at the peak time," Mr Albury told Tribune Business. "Now, we're looking to get five to 10."

When it came to last weekend's Car Show at the Mall at Marathon, he added: "Our write-ups were definitely down from previous years, which is somewhat expected because of the recession, but they're even down from last year. It's not good.

"I don't think the fact we're in an election year is helping things either. A lot of people are on the fence with investment sentiment and things they want to do. The economy, in my opinion, is relatively the same. The only thing putting it out is people waiting until after the election."

Mr Albury hedged this assessment, though, saying Bahamas Bus & Truck and all dealers would have to see how the next few weeks panned out, given that potential buyers would have to secure financing via commercial bank loans.

Processing such credit applications took time, and Mr Albury was also hoping that Bahamas Bus & Truck's presence at the Car Show, together with its presentations and materials, would resonate with potential buyers long into the future, acting as another sales source.

He agreed, though, with Mr Lowe that Bahamian commercial banks appeared far more willing to lend than in previous years. "The banks are very cash heavy and anxious to lend money, but it's finding people to qualify," Mr Albury added.

"Some banks were offering rates as low as 4.5-5 per cent. Those are the lowest rates I can remember. That's incredibly good. When you see the banks doing that, and you're getting few sales, it's a little discouraging."

The Bahamas Bus & Truck executive again pointed to the change in the auto industry's duty structure, from imported value to engine size, and associated tariff rises as having "disrupted" the new car market.

"If I did a used car show, it would be very successful and I'd probably sell 50 units," he joked. "Until we revisit the duty structure, I do not foresee any changes in the new car market, other than seeing entry-level vehicles thrive while all other models suffer.

"The average Bahamian, who can afford to buy for $30,000-$40,000, instead of what should be a nice middle class car is now getting an entry-level vehicle."