Domestic auto sales continued their long downward slide in July with a 7.9% decline in sales compared to July 2018. It brings to 26 the number of months sales have been dropping.

Auto dealerships sold 105,699 cars in July, the lowest July sales since 2009, according to data collected by the national statistics institute, Inegi. They sold 744,296 vehicles from January to July, down 6.6% from the same period last year.

The industry expects the trend to continue for the rest of 2019, which would make this year the third consecutive year of declining auto sales.

The July slump did not affect all brands equally: Nissan, the market leader, saw a 14.5% decline and General Motors and Volkswagen fell 5.6% and 7.2% respectively.

On the other hand, Suzuki and Mitsubishi both saw significant gains. Their sales were up 29.3% and 26% respectively.

Guillermo Rosales, general manager of the Mexican Automotive Dealers Association, said negative influences such as rising debt, declining purchasing power and a pessimistic outlook for the political and economic future have only deepened in recent months.

Source: Expansión (sp), El Financiero (sp)