The Colombian automotive sector is not having a good time. The sales figures for zero kilometer cars in June confirmed the slowdown that has been felt since August 2022.
Last month there was the sharpest drop in registrations during this 2023 (14,435 units), equivalent to 38.1 percent, compared to June of the previous year, the month in which 23,323 new cars took to the streets. The transfers of the used ones are also very reduced.
Colombia and Chile are the only two countries in the region that have had this negative behavior. Our country closed the first half of the year with a drop in sales volume of 26.6 percent, during which time it barely reached 90,869 units, 32,980 less than those sold in the first half of 2022.
(In addition: Bogotá: ‘nanny’ driver did not calculate the bridge crossing and crashed a millionaire new car).
The factors that are influencing this behavior of the sector are well known: the high interest rates in the financial system and the access to credit, which are the two that most concern consumers.
On the other hand, there is inflation, the increase in the price of cars and the economic slowdown, all this in the midst of an environment of uncertainty that forces the industry and consumers to be, at least, cautious.
Is the situation that serious? EL TIEMPO spoke with Pedro Nel Quijano, president of the recently created Association of Automotive Dealers (Aconauto), that brings together the majority of dealership windows of different brands throughout the country. Quijano, despite the figures, says that these are natural “potholes” that the industry goes through, which has had more difficult moments.
(Also: Driving license: How much could it cost in Colombia by 2024?).
What is your analysis of this situation?
The sale is the permanent reflection of the economic situation, everything that has to do with security and uncertainty directly influences the purchase decision. When that happens in the economic, political and social spheres, people delay or refrain from buying. I say delay, because at some point they will need to change their vehicle. Today we are in a forecast of 200,000 units. They are potholes that are suffered in the industry, but that will recover, these are temporary situations, and they will be solved.
Pedro Nel Quijano, president of the Association of Automotive Dealers (Aconauto).
Is there a risk of closing windows?
The dealerships, in a high percentage are family businesses with a long tradition, have been in an activity for many years in which they have bet on generating employment and providing transport and mobility solutions. What will happen is that they will surely adjust their expenses, postpone investments, expand their showcases. Close no, we have already had many situations of uncertainty. What more serious than the pandemic? From selling 28,000 cars a month, less than a hundred were billed, that would have bankrupted them or they would have all closed. They are very well targeted businesses, which have economic strength and which endure difficult times. Let’s hope… we hope that the economy and the government work.
(In other news: The impressive number of car accidents that have fallen from buildings in Medellín).
Is increasing the costs of after-sales services to customers an alternative?
A dealership has several incomes, the largest being the sale of new cars, followed by used cars, then parts, and then the garage sale. If you want to raise prices in customer service, it would scare them away and the cure would be worse than the disease, there is also a healthy rivalry between dealers who compete with very good services.
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