Another Record Month in Mexico

Mexican consumers still may be uneasy about the economy, but that did stop them from buying record numbers of cars and light trucks again in August.

There was an average of 5,152 light vehicles sold on each of 26 selling days in August, driving the month-end tally to a record 133,963 units. That was 19.7% higher than prior-year’s 4,306-vehicle daily average on volume of a then-record 111,952 units.

It also bested by 5.7% the 4,876 LVs sold on each of 27 selling days in July, when buyers took home a total of 131,671 cars and light trucks.

Although well short December 2015’s record 160,538 LVs, the 133,963 units sold last month still ranked fifth-best for any month in history, right behind the 139,704 light vehicles delivered in December 2006. The all-time high was reached in December 2915, when 160,538 vehicles sold.

Among the country’s 10 top monthly sales tallies, only two, besides August, were scored in months other than December: seventh-ranked November 2015’s 126,123 units and ninth-place May 2016’s 121,452 units.

LV sales so far this year total 986,641 units, 18.5% ahead of 832,641 in like-2015, meaning that  even if deliveries in September-December tie or fall slightly short of year-ago’s record 517,000-plus units, sales for entire 2015 will hit a new all-time high of 1.5 million units. That would be 11.4% better than prior-year’s record 1.3 million-plus LVs.    

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