World Vehicle Sales Show Solid Growth in January

Global vehicle sales totaled 7.0 million units in the first month of the year, an increase of 3.0% over year-ago with strong gains in North America and the Asia-Pacific region offsetting a sharp decline in South America.

In January, North American deliveries climbed 13.5% to 1.4 million units, the largest year-over-year growth for the region since August 2013’s 14.9% increase.

Sales in the U.S. surged 13.8% in the month to 1.2 million units, the largest January volume since 2000, while deliveries in Canada and Mexico rose 3.5% and 22.2%, respectively.

In January, North America held a 19.7% share of the worldwide market.

Deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region remained strong in the month as well, climbing 2.6% to 3.8 million units, a 54.2% share of global sales.

China, the region’s largest market, saw sales rise 7.6% over like-2014. Continually increasing demand for SUVs and other spacious vehicles helped fuel this growth. India and South Korea also posted sales gains in the month, up 4.9% and 7.8%, respectively, while Japan (-19.1%), Indonesia (-9.0%) and Australia (-0.2%) witnessed downturns.

European deliveries increased slightly in January with 1.3 million units sold, a 2.1% uptick from year-ago, accounting for 19.2% of the worldwide market.

Gains in Germany (+2.9%), France (+2.9) and Italy (+10.4%) negated declines posted in Russia (-23.6%), Switzerland (-8.0%), Belgium (-4.2%) and several smaller countries.

South America was the only region to see a decrease in sales in the first month of the year, falling 19.3% to 385,000 units.

Deliveries in Brazil plummeted 18.8% following a brief one-month stint in positive territory in December when consumers rushed to dealerships to purchase vehicles before tax incentives expired.

Sales in nearly every other South American country also fell in January, with Chile posting the biggest loss, down 29.7% from like-2014. Colombia continued to be the region’s lone bright spot, climbing 5.6% from year-ago levels.

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