Fiat Automóveis
has wrapped up the first half of the year with
the sales leadership in the Brazil, with a
dominant 22.4 percent market share, just as it
is forced to trim some production on either side
of the border due to a trade spat between Brazil
and Argentina.
With 366,476 new
cars and light commercial vehicles combined
being registered during the first six months of
the year, Fiat Automóveis continues to lead out
the Brazilian market and hold its perennial
closest rival, VW, at bay. That sales tally
added up to a 22.4 percent market share and was
an increase of 7.3 percent year-on-year as well
as being another sales record. In total 1.6
million vehicles have been sold in Brazil so far
this year.
Fiat
Automóveis sold 67,216 vehicles in Brazil last
month, up slightly from the 66,810 units it
shifted in May, but comfortably beating the
overall market which lost 4.5 percent
month-on-month. The results were released by the
Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de
Veículos Automotores (Anfavea), based on
data from Renavam. Second placed VW was
someway adrift in June with 56,600 vehicles
registered and was in fact down more than five
thousand units month-on-month. Third placed GM
had 53,600 registrations in June which was also
down from May when it added 55,600 units. Then
there was a long gap to fourth placed Ford which
registered 26,860 vehicles last month, down
slightly from 27,300 units in May.
In relation to
Fiat Automóveis' best-selling models, the Uno
hatchback and Strada pick-up continue leading of
the Italian brand's sales in Brazil. In June,
the Uno added another 25,334 registrations while
the Strada LCV accounted for 10,542 units.
Meanwhile Fiat's Latin American production operations
are now been hit by a trade dispute between the two
neighbours countries: Brazil responding by delaying auto
import licences after Argentina increased the number of
goods that require licencing. Fiat issued a statement to
clarify the situation after it believed that the South
American media had reported that the entire Betim plant
would in fact be shutting down as a result of the spat.
"Fiat’s plant in Betim, Brazil will shut a shift of one
of its production lines for one week for maintenance and
in order to balance product mix," read the statement
issued in Turin. "The press incorrectly reported that
the whole plant was being shut down. Additionally,
Fiat's plant in Cordoba, Argentina will have a technical
stop for one week, primarily to balance Brazil's product
mix and transit time. This has been made necessary
primarily as a result of the current state of trade
relations between Brazil and Argentina," the statement
continued. Fiat also noting that it has leeway as its
Brazilian inventory currently stands at 51,000 vehicles,
around 73 percent of monthly sales.
