The Mexican automotive industry registered its worst December in four years with a 10.68% decline in sales of light vehicles, closing a year in which sales were down 7% compared to 2017.
Last month’s sales totaled 141,963 units, the worst December on record since 2014 when 133,273 vehicles were sold, and down from last year’s 158,898, according to the Mexican Automobile Industry Association (AMIA).
Vehicle sales for the year totaled 1,421,458, down from the 2017 figure of 1,530,498. The decline in sales began in June of 2017, which was followed by 18 months of consistently lower numbers.
Despite the bad streak, December’s sales numbers were actually a breath of fresh air for the domestic market: it was the best month of 2018, with sales up 6.11% over November according to the AMIA.
Nissan continued to be the market leader with 22% of the market, although its sales declined by 14.4% to 312,034 units. General Motors’ sales were down 8.7% but the auto maker is still No. 2 in the market with 16.6% market share.
(In terms of production the two companies swapped places after figures revealed that General Motors led production between January and November, bumping Nissan from top spot.)
Volkswagen was third place in sales in 2018 with 196,402 units, down 16% from 2017.
Fourth-place Toyota recorded a 3.1% increase in sales while KIA’s sales grew 8.7%, making it No. 5.
Source: El Economista (sp), El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)
