Panama car sales boom a challenge for road commuters

IF YOU ARE backing on the easing of Panama’s traffic snarls with the new roadworks and the opening of the Metro subway, you may have to think again.

Currently Panama is ranked ninth as the country with the most cars per capita in Latin America but, says a CentralAMericaData report there is scope for increasing the number of vehicles per thousand inhabitants, which currently stands at 132.

A World Bank study gave Panama ts number nine ranking in the region as In the first 11 months of 2013, the automotive sector sold 51,569 vehicles, 6,086 more than in the same period of 2012, according to statistics from the Panama Dealers Authority (Adap).
The rapid expansion of the Panamanian automotive industry has been similar to that of other emerging economies and experts say that this year there will not be a decrease in demand reports Capital.com.pa

"The installation of firms which have established international operations in the country, a large supply of cars on the market, financing facilities and the need to have quality reliable transportation have driven the growth in auto sales," said Patricia Vukelja, executive director of Adap.

Furthermore, "… having one of the largest banking centers in the region has allowed the country to have a greater supply of financial products for cars and this has facilitated the growth in demand and the boom in the automotive sector."