RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In January this year, the Latin American automotive market recorded a 9.2% drop in sales compared to the same month in 2021, due in large part to declining sales in the countries with the largest vehicle sales in the region, particularly Brazil and Argentina.
This is the finding of a report by the Association of Automotive Companies of Ecuador (AEADE) on the regional automotive market, released Friday, which includes data from ten automotive markets in ten Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
According to the study, Brazil and Argentina recorded the largest negative changes in vehicle sales last month: – 26.1% and – 13.0%, respectively. At the other end of the scale, Venezuela and Paraguay recorded the highest increases (143.6% and 49.6%, respectively) compared to the same month of 2021.
“Within the light vehicle segment, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay reported the largest year-over-year sales declines in January (28.2%, 13.4%, and 8.6%, respectively),” the study said.
Venezuela, Paraguay, and Chile reported sales increases of 148.1%, 51, % and 49.2%, respectively, in January compared to the same month last year.”
In the heavy-duty vehicle segment, Colombia, Paraguay and Ecuador recorded the highest increases in January (76.1%, 24.6% and 22.5%, respectively), while Venezuela and Argentina saw sales decline by 100% and 4.0%, respectively, year-on-year in January.
According to AEADE, 2,137 heavy vehicles and 41,119 light vehicles were sold in Argentina last month. This brought domestic sales to a total of 43,256 units.
The 10 best-selling models in February
A report released by the Association of Automobile Dealers (Acara) on Saturday indicated that so far this year, 60% of the new vehicles sold by dealers were domestic, 31% were imported from Brazil and the rest came from other markets.
Acara also stated that the number of vehicles patented this month increased to 28,928 units, down 5.1% from the 30,483 in the same month last year.
The ranking of best-selling models in February is led by Fiat Cronos (with 4,081 sales), Peugeot 208 (1,796); Toyota Hilux (1,609); Volkswagen Amarok (1,595) and Toyota Etios (1,281); followed by Chevrolet Cruze (1,066 units); Renault Kangoo II (967); Ford Ranger (850); Citroen C4 Cactus (775) and Toyota Corolla (741).