Mexico February LV Sales Mixed

February new light-vehicle sales in Mexico posted mixed results, rising 1.6% from January, but falling 0.3% behind prior-year’s February tally.

Dealers delivered 3,470 LVs on each of February’s 23 selling days for a total of 79,807 units.

Although last month’s selling pace trailed the 3,482-a-day rate of a year ago, when 80,087 sales were recorded, it was up from 3,442 daily in January, on volume of 85,389 units.

The stronger showing in February was due mostly to the European makes, sales of which were up 4.5% from January, to 20,359 units from 21,185, and bested year-ago’s 19,175 deliveries by 6.2%.

Volkswagen 5.5% year-over-year gain helped bolster the Europeans’ standing, although lower volume makes also helped the cause with increases ranging from BMW’s 2.2% to Jaguar’s 55.6% increase.

Sales of North American-brand LVs eked out a 0.1% gain over January, but fell 5.0% short of matching their February 2013 performance.

Asian makes fared a bit better, posting a 1.1% sales increase over January, although they missed the year-ago mark by 0.3%.

Sales of 165,196 units  in the first two months of the year edged past the 164,182 sold in like-2013 by 0.6%, again due mostly to the 6.0% increase racked up by the Europeans, followed by the Asian-makes’ 1.2% jump.

North American brand sales for the period were down 3.7%, despite a 2.2% rise in sales of General Motors LVs.

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