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North America Lone Bright Spot in World Sales Picture

North America Lone Bright Spot in World Sales Picture

Downturns in all major regions except North America left global vehicle sales lagging 5.2% behind like-2012 levels for the month. Still, January-February volume outpaced year-ago results.

Auto makers sold 6.12 million vehicles worldwide in February, a 5.2% decline from year-ago, according to WardsAuto data.

The falloff came as deliveries declined 8.5% in the Asia-Pacific region and 7.7% in Europe.

China sales were expected to underperform year-ago due to the timing of annual holiday celebrations. But the 13% drop in February volume to 1.37 million vehicles was less than expected.

Sales in Japan, the region’s next-biggest market, slipped 8.1%, but Thailand again pushed past South Korea to claim the No.3 Asia-Pacific spot, with sales surging 42.6% over year-ago.

The region’s 2.74 million total deliveries accounted for 44.8% of global volume in February, down nearly five share points from January, when demand in China swelled above 2 million units.

Russia surpassed Germany in sales by fewer than 200 units to take the No.1 position in Europe with 219,000 deliveries, up 0.5% from year-ago. The German market posted an 11% drop in February.

France and Italy continued to reflect the region’s ongoing debt crisis, with sales plunging 12.1% and 18.5%, respectively. The U.K. (up 7.3%) and Turkey (up 23.1%) were among the region’s few bright spots, as total deliveries fell 7.7% to 1.27 million units, making up 20.7% of worldwide vehicle sales.

South America finished down 2% from year-ago on unit sales of 394,000. The shortfall, driven by a 5.6% drop in Brazil and 30.8% decline in Venezuela, was offset partially by year-over-year improvements in Argentina (up 9.2%) and some smaller markets.

The relatively small year-over-year decline lifted South America’s global market share to 6.4% from 6.2% in like-2012.

North America was the only region to experience year-over-year growth in February, with deliveries rising 3.2% to 1.4 million units, accounting for nearly 23% of world sales.

U.S. volume rose 3.4%, combining with Mexico sales growth (7.8%) to offset a 3.8% market decline in Canada.

February’s results brought year-to-date worldwide deliveries to 12.9 million units, up 4.1% from like-2012.

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