The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The 15 percent increase in new auto sales for 2025 “sets the bar high” for this year, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president revealed yesterday, with most industry operators likely “to take any increase we can get”.

Ben Albury, also Bahamas Bus and Truck’s general manager, told Tribune Business that - while dealers would “like to see another 15 percent increase” in 2026 - such ambitions are being tempered by historical experience which has shown successive years of growth are frequently followed by a “retraction” because buyer demand has largely been satisfied.

While not providing gross figures for the industry as a whole, the BMDA chief also disclosed that new car sales had exceeded 2024’s “substantial” full-year numbers by 4 percent at end-November 2025 with one month still remaining.

And, describing himself as “cautiously optimistic” for 2026, Mr Albury told this newspaper that the strong back-to-back years of 2024 and 2025 have allowed Bahamian auto dealers to “recover, recalibrate” and expand their workforces following what he described as “a couple of difficult years” and the lockdowns and supply chain disruption that characterised the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Fred Albury, the Auto Mall chief, said 2025 was “a bit off” for his dealership, which includes the Toyota, BMW and Hyundai brands, due to increased market competition including the influx of Chinese models.

He also called on the Government to follow Jamaica’s lead and reduce the maximum age limit for used car imports from ten years to seven years in a bid to improve the quality of second-hand vehicles on Bahamian streets and reduce the environmental impact caused by drivers frequently dumping such cars at the road-side when they switch to other models.

“We saw a 15 percent increase over 2024, which was pretty impressive considering the strength of that year,” Ben Albury told Tribune Business. “It was substantial, especially considering the growth we saw in 2024. We are very excited about that, and looking forward to a very good 2026.

“It definitely sets the bar high. As I’ve said previously, history has told us that when we usually see this growth over a few years we expect the market to then retract some as consumer and user demand gets satisfied. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in 2026.”

Noting that the upcoming general election may cause some minor disruption, Ben Albury said dealers and BMDA members will be seeking to match or exceed 2025’s numbers. “The economy seems to be moving along well, and the banks seem willing to entertain customers that are interested in coming and purchasing,” he added.

“It’s still way to early to predict. We’d like to see another 15 percent increase this year but, as of right now, I’m cautiously optimistic. Definitely it will be our collective goal [to beat or match 2025], I’m sure of that. We’ll take any increase we can get. It’s been a couple of good years after quite a few difficult ones, and it’s helped a lot of us to recover, rebuild and recalibrate, expand our workforces and employ more people.

“Even up until November 2025 we had already passed 2024’s full-year figures,” Ben Albury continued. “We had already passed that by about 4 percent. There’s still a lot of activity going on in the market. We’re still keeping our eyes on potential market saturation given that we’ve had a few good years, which are traditionally followed by a few years of retraction once the market has been satisfied.

“We’re just going to keep our eyes on it and are still plugging ahead and looking forward to a good year. We’re all watching the global situation going on in the news, and the idea of how the market has extended over the past couple of years. We’re going to keep out eyes out there for a retraction, but there’s still demand there, appetite there, and as long as it stays at the level it’s at we will keep it satisfied.”

The BMDA chief also voiced hope that the industry will benefit from a reduction in freight prices and shipping costs in 2026, adding: “We feel good about the situation and are just monitoring it. There are a lot of new models and new supplies, and they’ll fuel growth in the first quarter and half of 2026. It’s an election year, which could cause some contraction. We’ll just monitor the situation and see how it goes.”

Fred Albury, meanwhile, reflecting on the past year, told Tribune Business: “2025 was a bit off from 2024, but we did pretty good. I forecast that 2026 will be similar to 2025. Headwinds would be that there’s a lot more competition in the marketplace right now, which s basically the Chinese brands, but my gut feeling is that they are entering into the used car market.

“All in all, there were still pretty strong numbers coming in out there. We had one brand that was up, and one that was down. All in all, we might have been off 5 percent if that. The luxury end is still very strong. The lower end is still very competitive with all these Chinese brands out there. That’s where things are at.”

As for reforms and changes he would like to see, Mr Albury said: “I think with the used cars they should look at cutting the age from ten years to seven like Jamaica has done. I think that would improve the vehicles that are on the road and, the used cars coming in, people would tend to hold them for longer.

“Right now, it’s very cheap on the used stuff and people don’t hold them for long. They drive them for two years and then get another one. It’s the environmental impact, and I’m also interested to know what the Government’s plans are for electric vehicles and to dispose of their batteries. That will be a concern ten years down the road.”

Ben Albury, meanwhile, urged the Government to consider removing or easing price controls that were “put in place archaically many years ago” and limit the auto industry to mark-ups and margins of 25 percent on new vehicles, 15 percent on used cars and 75 percent on parts. He argued that the level of competition that exists in the sector makes such measures redundant.

The BMDA and Bahamas Bus and Truck chief said price controls prevent dealers from capitalising on discounts, and chances to sell below market price and make additional profits, adding: “It’s just cumbersome. They come with regulators to do checks, and we have to stop what we’re doing. It takes time to deal with this.”