Domestic auto sales
to drop in isles

New vehicle sales are expected to be largely flat this year, with Hawaii dealers predicting they will sell just 230 more cars and light trucks than last year, according to the Hawaii Automobile Dealers' Association.

The association said it expects soft sales will continue next year because "consumers are pretty much tapped out after years of robust spending, negligible contributions to savings and escalating debt."

What little sales growth Hawaii is expected to enjoy this year appears driven by Asian car dealers. Amid sharp declines for sellers of U.S. and European cars, dealers of Asian cars are forecast to sell 1,788 more cars and light trucks by year's end than in 2004.

The biggest gains are expected to come from Japanese cars and trucks, whose dealers expect to sell 1,217 more vehicles than they did last year. Dealers for South Korea's Kia and Hyundai makes expect to sell 571 more of the vehicles than last year, a 27.8 percent increase over 2004.

That's more than enough to offset slumping sales of U.S. and European vehicles. Dealers of U.S. cars expect to sales to drop 6.3 percent to 18,039 from 19,249 in 2004, while European dealers expect sales to fall 6 percent to 5,445 from 5,793 in 2004.