Cars: loans for the purchase of new and used cars slowed growth in August

The Association of Automobile Dealers of the Argentine Republic (ACARA) reported through a report published this Friday that in the eighth month of the year there were registered 29,312 items for the acquisition of vehicles, which involved a contraction of 14.4% compared to July.

Six out of every four pawn loans granted were used to purchase 0km vehicles. In this segment the monthly drop was 9.2%although the absolute number (16,331) was the second highest since February 2023.

ACARA has warned of a slowdown in the trend that indicated a growing weight of financing in the total transactions with new vehicles. “While in the first 7 months we had gone from 31.9% in January to 41.7% in July, last month we returned to 41.7% in July.” 39.3%a figure similar to what we had seen in May,” the entity noted.

Meanwhile, Among used cars, a 20.2% drop was observed compared to July. Therefore, the weight of financing on total purchases fell from 8.9% to 7.4%.

Even so, ACARA clarified that the level of clothing remains “at historically high levels”. Indeed, the 12,981 used car loans were the second highest since at least January 2023.

It is also worth noting that, In year-on-year terms, significant increases were observed, although decelerating compared to the previous dynamic. In the new segment the increase was 22.8%, lower than the 32.4% recorded in July. Likewise, in the used segment the annual increase was reduced from 97.1% to 42.6%.

As for the type of creditor, for 0km cars the financing from the companies themselves predominated. terminalswhile the banks were the ones that granted the largest amount of credit for the purchase of used cars.

Vehicle registrations fell compared to July, but optimism in the sector remains

According to ACARA, in August vehicle registrations represented some 41,378 units, which implied a decrease of 4.1% compared to July. However, the president of ACARA, Sebastián Beato said that, despite the monthly decline, “the August figures confirm the recovery that began in July.”after a very irregular first semester.”

The representative of the entity showed optimism for the coming months because there are several factors that favor boosting the activity, such as the low exchange rate gapthe financing with affordable rates and the “market normalization”. He also highlighted specific measures such as the announcement of the reduction of the PAIS tax“a tribute that had a direct impact on the price” , the cost reduction when registering vehicles and the Progressive reduction of stamp duty promised by the Mendoza government.