Brazil Car Sales On The Upswing - Dealership Association
18 März 2009 - 4:16PM
Dow Jones News
Brazil car sales are on the upswing again in March, rising 8.33%
in the first two weeks of the month over the same period in
February, dealership association Fenabrave said Wednesday.
Brazil car and light truck sales totaled 118,414 units, up from
109,310 units in the first two weeks of February. Sales were also
5.31% higher than they were at the same period last year, at a time
when credit was plentiful and Brazil's economy was just a couple
months away from investment grade status.
Times have changed since then, with the local economy seeing
back-to-back quarters of negative economic activity.
However, a government decision to cut the industrial production
tax on car makers has resulted in lower prices for new cars. In
some cases, car prices have declined as much as 7.4% due to the
temporary exemption of the IPI industrial tax.
That tax is expected to return in April, but automakers are
trying to convince the government to keep the exemption in
place.
Volkswagen's popular Gol models, both the new four-door sedan
and the traditional two-door hatchback entry vehicle, remain strong
sellers.
Volkswagen sold 33.44% more Gols in the first two weeks of the
month, or 13,272 units, beating VW's yearly average over the two
week period of 11,089 cars.
Gol's sale price is about 27,300 Brazilian reals, or
$11,921.
Fiat's Palio and Uno models were selling 23% and 17% more
respectively, while the Chevrolet (GM) Celta sedan was selling
12.11% less to 4,807 units sold. GM normally averages around 4,540
Celta sales in the first two weeks of the month, making March
better than normal despite the decline from February.
"Gol continues to be a phenomenon for Volkswagen and it helps
carry a lot of the national car sales figures," said Sergio Reze,
president of Fenabrave.
-By Kenneth Rapoza, Dow Jones Newswires, 5511-2847-4541,
kenneth.rapoza@dowjones.com