Vehicle sales dropped by 24.26 per cent in the third quarter of 2010, leaving Bahamian new car dealers baffled as they had anticipated a “boost” based on sales of inventory not impacted by the 2010-2011 Budget tax increases.
Rick Lowe, operations manager at Nassau Motor Company (NMC), told Tribune Business, “We’re sort of flummoxed. Many people would have expected the opposite. The vehicles that retailers have in stock at the old duty rates, we thought people should be rushing to buy in. We’re in a quandry. We should be having a boost, particularly in the vehicles in stock.”
Mr Lowe added, “Certainly, everything I’m reading tells us to fasten our seatbelts for another eight to 12 months. There’s not much hope. We keep trying to do the best we can, looking at ways to improve customer service, keep clients as happy as we can, and still pay the bills.”
