August Second-Best in Mexico LV Sales

Mexican consumers drove home 125,215 new light vehicles in August, the month’s second-highest volume behind the record 133,963 cars and light trucks sold a year ago.

That represented a 10% decline in the average daily selling rate this year to 1,736 from prior-year’s 1,612-a-day pace.

The decline would have been sharper except for an additional selling day last month, 27 compared with year-ago’s 26 days.

Although light trucks accounted for just 37.4% of the August market, a record 46,866 of them were sold last month, a 7.7% gain from the prior benchmark of 41,919 posted a year ago, when they held a 31.1% market share.

Car sales, on the other hand, were second-best at 78,349, down 18% from the August record of 92,044 set in like-2016.

Among those manufacturers selling 7,000 or more LVs last month, only Kia, up 25%, and Fiat Chrysler, 11.7% ahead, outperformed their prior-year August volumes.

The year-over-year sales lead built up earlier in the year recently has been eroded to the point car and light-truck sales of 989,281 through August are now just 0.3% ahead of the 986,641 vehicles sold in like-2016

Barring a sudden turnaround, it now is unlikely LV sales for the year will top the record 1.6 million-plus units sold a year ago.    

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