After a bit of a September respite, Mexico’s new light-vehicle market once again soared to record heights in October.
At 100,769 units, it marked the first time more than 100,000 buyers crowded showrooms in October, erasing the 8-year-old record of 96,842 set in 2006, and beat by 14.3% the 88,182 LVs sold in October 2013.
Although the month’s average daily selling rate of 3,732 units was just 0.7% stronger than September’s 3,707-a-day pace, three additional selling days, 27 vs. 24, helped boost buyer turnout. October also had 27 selling days a year ago.
Cars accounted for most of October’s record-setting performance, with deliveries of 64,452 vehicles posting a 16.8% increase from year-ago and toppling a 14-year-old record of 88,703 set in October 2000.
However, light truck deliveries also played a strong roll.
They bounced back to a third-best on volume of 36,317 units in October from fifth place in September, surpassing prior-year’s 31,847 vehicles by 10.1%.
Asian makes led the October LV charge with a 27.2% year-over-year sales increase, racking up a 12.1% gain for the year to date. While the Asians topped September in total sales volume due to the extra selling days, their daily rate trailed that of the prior month by 2.9%.
The European brands likewise surpassed their year-earlier performance by 5.5% and sold more vehicles in October than the prior month, but their selling pace was 4.6% less than that of September.
For the year through October, European brands were up 4.5% on like-2013.
Only the Detroit Three increased their selling rates over October year-ago,by 4.8%, and the prior month, 11.5%, but fell 1.5% short matching their January-October 2013 volume.
If the country’s economic activity for the rest of the year matches the Bank of Mexico’s outlook, LV sales are forecast to end 2014 in excess of 1.1 million units. That would beat the 1,061,700 vehicles delivered in 2013 by at least 3.6% and possible eclipse 2006’s all-time high of 1,132,783 units.
