Cars and Drivers

Brazilian Car Sales at 10-Year Low in September

Fiat Strada 2015
Source: courtesy of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
The Brazilian economy has been suffering for nearly a year now as the currency continues to depreciate, the country’s oil revenues collapse, and corruption charges keep battering national oil company Petrobras. In September, new car sales in Brazil fell by 32% to a 10-year low according auto industry researchers at focus2move.com.

Brazil’s government produced a budget for the coming fiscal year that included a primary deficit, the first time in the country’s modern history that has happened. And after three years of declining car sales, that can only mean a fourth year is on the way.

The best-selling car in Brazil in September and for the year to date is the Fiat from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE: FCAU). The brand claimed 16.6% market share in September with monthly sales of 31,900, down 46% year-over-year. Sales for the year to date total 342,739, down nearly 34%. For the year-to-date Fiat’s market share is 18.2%

The next best selling brand in Brazil is Chevrolet from General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM). The company sold 27,202 units in September, down 45% compared with September 2014 sales. Year to date sales are down about 31% and the company’s market share for the first 9 months of 2015 is 15.4%. Market share in September was 14.1%.

Volkswagen was the third-best selling brand in September, with unit sales of 26,814, down 42.5% year-over-year. For the first nine months of the year sales are down 33% and market share is 15.1%, although share slipped below 14% in September. How severely Brazilian sales are hurt by the company’s diesel cheating scandal remains to be seen.

The fourth best-selling brand is Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) with September sales of 19,513 (down 22%) and September market share of 10.1%. For the year to date sales total nearly 201,000, down 7.1% compared with the first 9 months of 2014 and market share is 10.7%.

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