South America Vehicle Sales Down 3.2% Through First Five Months

May’s total marked the region’s fourth consecutive decline as gains in smaller countries were not able to offset a combined 10.6% drop in the two biggest markets of Argentina and Brazil, which together account for 83% of the volume.

Haig Stoddard, Industry Analyst

June 27, 2012

1 Min Read
Renault Duster strong sales not enough to offset regionrsquos decline
Renault Duster strong sales not enough to offset region’s decline.

South America’s total vehicle sales in May reached 425,826 units for the six countries tracked by WardsAuto, falling 8.8% below year-ago’s 467,087.

The January-May volume was down 3.2% to 2.039 million units, compared with 2.107 million in like-2011.

May’s total marked the region’s fourth-consecutive decline as gains in smaller markets were not able to offset a combined 10.6% drop in the two biggest markets of Argentina and Brazil, which together account for 83% of the region’s volume.

The rest of the countries posted a combined gain of 0.7% in May. Venezuela led, up 14.7%, marking its sixth straight increase and pushing its year-to-date comparison up a solid 20.8%.

Vehicle deliveries in the month also increased 1.4% in Uruguay, placing it 3.2% ahead of year-ago for the first five months.

However, Chile and Colombia saw May sales fall 0.5% and 3.1%, respectively. It was Chile’s sixth consecutive decline and Colombia’s second in the past three months. Colombia’s year-to-date total was 2.2% above year-ago, while Chile’s 5-month sum was down 4.7%.

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2012

About the Author

Haig Stoddard

Industry Analyst, WardsAuto

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