Luxury car sales in Phnom Penh have yet to recover from the global economic downturn and some dealerships are seeing sales slip even further, several city car dealers said yesterday.
Kim San, general affairs manager at Toyota importer TTHK Company, said yesterday that his profits were stable year-on-year, although he added that sales figures for the first nine months of 2010 were not available.
“Sales this year are almost the same as last year,” he said before declining to elaborate.
Other dealers reported losses.
Sin Soken, a car dealer in Chamkar Mon district, said his business has seen a 50 percent drop in car sales through September compared to the same period in 2009. Mr Soken said he was selling about 30 cars each month before the global economic crisis in 2008.
“Now, I can sell about seven cars a month, bringing down my income,” he said yesterday.
Mr Soken blamed the slowdown on a proliferation of car dealerships and a reduction in buyers’ income.
Meng Heang, a car dealer in Daun Penh’s Wat Phnom commune, said his revenue dropped between 50 and 60 percent through September this year compared to the first nine months of 2009.
“The car sale business seems to be calm, and affects almost all car dealers,” he said.
New vehicle registration appeared to be dropping as well.
Preap Chanvibol, director of the Land Transport Department, said 210,661 automobiles and motorcycles were registered with his department through the first nine months of this year. In all of 2009, 307,050 new vehicles were registered.
