From January to July 2026, Dominica imported a total of 84,544 cars, of which used cars are the absolute main force driving growth, with imports reaching 54,580, accounting for 64.56% of all imported vehicles...

According to the latest monthly report of the General Administration of Customs of the Dominican Republic (DGA), from January to July 2026, Dominica imported a total of 84,544 vehicles, an increase of 4560 vehicles compared with 79,984 vehicles in the same period of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 5.70%. Among them, used cars are the absolute main force driving growth, with imports reaching 54,580, accounting for 64.56% of all imported vehicles.

For China second-hand car exporters in the Latin American market, this set of data is of great reference value: Dominica is not only highly dependent on imported cars, but also has active demand for used cars, old and new SUVs and light commercial vehicles; at the same time, China has become the fourth largest source of cars in the region, with a growth rate exceeding the overall market.

The contribution of used cars has increased almost all, and new cars have basically stayed in place.

Data shows that in the first seven months of this year, Dominica imported 54,580 used vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 4427 vehicles, an increase of 8.83%. During the same period, new car imports were 29,964, only 133 more than last year, a year-on-year increase of only 0.45%.

Simply calculated, the total number of automobile imports increased by 4560 this year, of which 4427 came from used cars, which means that more than 97% of the net increase was contributed by used cars.

However, the DGA also stated that the data currently disclosed are preliminary statistics and may still be revised in the future.

SUVs accounted for nearly half of imports, while traditional cars fell by 14.5%

From the perspective of model structure, Dominican consumers 'preference for SUVs (called "jeepetas" by local statistics) is very obvious.

A total of 41,910 SUVs were imported from January to July this year, an increase of 6063 vehicles year-on-year, an increase of 16.91%, accounting for 49.57% of the total automobile imports. In other words, for every two imported cars, there is almost one SUV.

Freight vehicles also maintained growth, with 15,823 imported vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 9.55%, accounting for 18.72%. In contrast, imports of traditional passenger cars dropped to 16,013 units from 18,725 units in the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 14.48%.

Vanans and MPVs were basically stable, with a total of 5544 imported vehicles; the number of tourist vehicles dropped from 2811 to 2434, and the number of passenger cars dropped from 1926 to 1799. Although the absolute number of "other vehicles" such as ambulances and funeral vehicles is not large, it increased by 46.07% year-on-year to 1021.

This set of data clearly reflects local consumer preferences: SUVs and practical commercial vehicles are expanding, while traditional sedans are shrinking. If the Dominican market is still developed according to the idea of "low-cost car traffic", it may not be as close to actual demand as compact SUVs, medium SUVs and pickup/freight models.

China has risen to the fourth largest source country, with a growth rate of 13.42%

In terms of source markets, the United States is still Dominica's largest automobile supplier, importing a total of 24,519 vehicles in the first seven months, a year-on-year increase of 3941 vehicles. The United States 'huge used car and auction car resources are still the core car source in the Dominican market.

Japan ranked second with 16,464 vehicles, but a year-on-year decrease of 5.17%; South Korea ranked third with 13,342 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 4.33%; China ranked fourth with 12,387 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 13.42%; Mexico ranked fifth with 4812 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 5.34%.

Although China has not yet entered the top three, its growth rate is already significantly higher than 5.70% of Dominica's overall import market, and the difference between China and South Korea, which ranks third, is less than 1000 vehicles. If this trend continues, the local presence of China's car sources will continue to increase.

However, it should be noted that the DGA's country of origin statistics are not equal to the ranking of countries of origin of used cars. The 12,387 vehicles of origin from China include both new vehicles and other vehicles that meet the statistical scope. Therefore, it cannot be directly understood as "Dominica imported 12,400 used cars from China."

written in the end

Dominica's data for the first seven months have drawn a fairly clear demand map for China's used car exporters: used cars account for nearly 65%, and SUVs account for nearly 50%, while China's source cars increased by 13.42% year-on-year. What deserves attention in this market is not the simple "import scale of 84,500 vehicles", but the increase is highly concentrated in used cars and SUVs. For China sellers, the next step can be to focus on the year, displacement, and price band of the local best-selling SUVs, as well as whether international brand used cars and China brand car sources in the China market have cost advantages. At the same time, Dominica has long been deeply affected by the supply of used cars in the United States. If China cars want to further grab shares, in addition to price, they must also solve the issues of parts, maintenance and residual value awareness.

Source: Guangdong Good Car

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