Fiat Automóveis added
64,539 registrations in Brazil last month to close the
first quarter of the year with a total of 172,003 units
sold meaning that it led the Brazilian market for both
periods as well as setting a new sales record for Fiat
over the opening three months of the year.
The data, released by
Anfavea -
Associação Nacional
dos Fabricantes de Veículos Automotores (National
Association of Automotive Vehicles’ Manufacturers),
confirms Fiat Automóveis' leadership in the Brazilian
market for the first quarter with 22 percent share of
all sales. That adds up to 2.7 percent growth
year-on-year for the same period and drives Fiat
Automóveis to a new sales volume record although it does
however mildly underperform the overall Brazilian market
as total vehicle sales during the first quarter of rose 3.6 percent
to 777,725 vehicles.
In March 64,539 new
cars and light commercial vehicles were sold by Fiat
Automóveis which put it firmly clear at the top and was
more than six thousand units ahead of its closest rival.
That added up to a 22.4 percent market share for the
month for Fiat Automóveis as well a month-on-month rise
of 6.3 percent. However in March versus February terms
Fiat Automóveis underperformed the overall market (+11.6
percent) and all its key rivals: VW (58,124 units in
March) was up 6.3 percent month-on-month, GM (55,282
units) was up 19.3 percent while Ford (27,675 units) was
up 17.0 percent.
In year-on-year terms,
for the month of March it was a different story as Fiat
Automóveis (-12.3 percent) outperformed the overall
market (-14.4 percent) and all its main rivals: VW
(-16.3 percent), GM (-21.0 percent) and Ford (-23.7
percent). Much of the market's sharp year-on-year
decline for the month just gone is put down to the
carnival holiday period falling in March this year as
opposed to February last year while March 2010 also saw
consumers beating a furious path to the showrooms to
take advantage of the final month of a government tax
incentive.
Fiat Automóveis' list
of best selling cars for the first quarter of the year
is dominated by the new Uno, which, with total 61,349
units registered for the period, actually accounted for
more than one-in-three of all Fiat models sold in
Brazil. Fiat's second highest selling car for the three
months was the Siena sedan, with 24,815 units finding
buyers, just ahead of its Project 178 "World Car"
sister, the Palio; the B-segment hatchback ending the
quarter on 23,281 units. The Palio's volumes have
reasonably stabilised now after the arrival of the new
Uno cannibalised the majority of its sales while
prototypes for the next-generation model are currently
pounding the Brazilian roads. Amongst light commercial
vehicles, another Project 178 member, the compact Strada
pick up, was - as ever - Brazil's best-selling load-lugger,
with 28,030 units registered from January to March.
Another Brazilian highlight for Fiat was the Ducato van
which, with a total of 3,280 registrations over the
first three months of the year, topped its segment.
