Brazil In May: Sales Slide 9.66 Percent. Or Gain 1.64

The first numbers are out for May. Sales of new cars dropped 9.66 percent in relation to April. Why? This is the first month in which the full effect of the end of the incentive program was felt. Many dealers however kept up incentive pricing avoiding the 20% drop I had predicted. All is not lost though.

The Brazilians have not forsaken their cars. Comparing May 2010 to May 2009, there was actually a gain of 1.64 percent! For the first five months, Brazilian car sales were 1,316,824 vehicles, up 14.26 percent over the same period in 2009, reports Brazil’s second largest newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, citing Fenabrave (Brazilian Distributors Federation). So, the year is still on track for setting the best-ever sales record.

The first numbers for May also reveal some surprises in terms of brands. Fiat still tops the charts at 23.31 percent, with VW right behind them at 23.02 percent of the market. It seems like the new Uno is still not gaining conquest sales from VeeDub. General Motors dropped slightly to a 19.74 percent share, while Ford had a bad month with a participation of only 8.48 percent (the new old Fiesta is, for now, a flop).

Hyundai though is creating quite a stir. They leap-frogged Renault, Toyota, Honda and the PSA twin and captured fifth place! In numbers, they got 3.72 percent of total sales.

As for the first five months of the year, no changes yet, though Hyundai’s strong showing in May means that the fifth spot will be hotly contested. Maybe even Ford will feel the heat. Anyway, Fiat leads by a hair with 22.54 percent, Volkswagen is breathing down their necks with 20.94 percent, and General Motors seems stuck in third with 20.28 percent. Ford is far from the leaders at 10.39 percent while Renault is holding on for dear life at fifth with 4.39 percent.