Automobile sales have encountered a "good year" particularly with the top 20 U.S. Hispanic-owned dealerships.

According to the 2013 HispanicBusiness Automotive Report, overall car sales increased 21.1 percent in comparison to the 2011-2012 report, or $3.32 billion to $4.02 billion. The report recognized 14 of the top 20 dealerships showed positive revenue growth.

"The economy is starting to grow," said Allan Vigil Ford Lincoln Inc. CEO M. Allan Vigil from Morrow, Ga., who ranked No. 8 on the top 20 list. "There is pent-up demand from the past four years, and lenders have relaxed their requirements for making automobile loans."

The Hispanic-owned dealership that showed the most positive growth was Bravo Southwest LP in El Paso, Texas, which encountered a revenue increase of 122.9 percent. The No. 1 dealership, based on revenue, was Greenway Ford Inc. from Orlando, Fla.

The top 10 cities that showed the highest share of new vehicle purchases by Hispanics included Los Angeles at No. 1 followed by New York and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale. Houston and San Antonio rounded up the top five.

According to Polk, an automotive data compiler, Hispanic consumer purchases were up.

"Hispanic customers are a big part of our business," said Alpine Buick GMC CEO Ivette Dominguez of Denver, CO. "The Hispanic community trusts our dealership, and word has spread over the years. From 2012 to 2013, our Hispanic growth has been even more substantial than the Polk numbers. Our Spanish-speaking team increased their total sales by nearly 50 percent in the past year."

Polk revealed the top 10 brands preferred by Hispanics, which was topped by Toyota followed by Honda, then Nissan. Chevrolet and Ford rounded the top five. Sixth to tenth place went to Hyundai, Dodge, Kia, Volkswagen, and Jeep respectively.

In regards to Toyota, Polk stated it accounted for 17.46 percent of the Hispanic purchases during 2013 while Honda and Nissan represented 12.44 percent and 11.67 percent of the brand share, respectively.

For the 2013-2014 year, sales are projected to surge.

"We think 2014 will be better than 2013 because of the continued recovery of the economy and also because of the new products that Lincoln and Jaguar are introducing to the marketplace. We're looking at a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in sales," said Alvarez Lincoln Jaguar CEO Ramon Alvarez from Riverside, Calif.

HispanicBusiness added the U.S. automotive market as a vital Hispanic consumer segment. Based on January to June figures, as an example, there were 677,799 Hispanic auto buyers, which was a 16 percent year-over-year growth.

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