In February, Brazil’s vehicle sector saw a remarkable 24.3% increase in production from January, reaching 189.7 thousand units. This uptick was highlighted by the automakers’ association, Anfavea.
Sales also saw growth, reaching 165.2 thousand new vehicles, a 2.2% monthly increase.
Notably, February’s daily sales rate surged 18.4% to 8.7 thousand units, as Marcio de Lima Leite, Anfavea’s president, shared with the media.
Leite underscored February’s performance as unprecedented since before the pandemic, marking a significant milestone in daily sales averages.
Electrified vehicles particularly shone, with 22.5 thousand units sold in the year’s first two months, including 8 thousand electric and 14.5 thousand hybrid vehicles.
These electrified models claimed a 7.3% share of all light vehicle sales in this period, a noticeable rise from 2023’s 4.3%, per Anfavea‘s findings.
Pre-tariff hike imports drove the surge in electrified vehicle sales this February, constituting 17% of light vehicle sales. Leite anticipates the trend of high imported vehicle registrations to persist into March.
Year-over-year, February saw a 17.4% production increase and a 27.1% surge in sales.
By February’s end, the sector maintained an inventory of 217.6 thousand new vehicles, matching January, equaling 38 days of sales.
Export numbers, however, fell 14.1% year-over-year in February, totaling 30.7 thousand vehicles.
Anfavea reports an 8.9% production rise, 19.8% sales increase, but 28% drop in exports in the first two months.