The Brazilian auto industry continued on the rise this year as demonstrated by an excellent first quarter for registrations, production and exports.
In this period, 545,500 new vehicles were sold, a growth of 15.6% compared to the 472,000 registered last year.
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The month on month comparison also showed higher numbers: in March alone, the 207,400 units sold was a 32.2% increase compared to the 156,900 in February (a shorter month due to Mardi Gras holidays) and (back to year on year comparison) 9.6% over 189,200 in March 2017.
The data confirmed the gradual return of confidence and output after four consecutive, downward years (2013 to 2016) when sales slumped almost 50%.
Even with two fewer working days, last month's result was about 10% above March last year which was another clear indicator of domestic market recovery.
Very low inflation (2.8% in 12 months), falling unemployment and basic interest rates at their lowest levels in Brazilian history have again eased consumer access to better, long term credit.
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By GlobalData"This leaves us very optimistic about the future of the economy and the industry," said Antonio Megale, president of manufacturers association Anfavea.
"Yet even so we will wait another couple of months to review our 2018 forecasts, all positive in relation to 2017: 11.8% domestic market, 13.2% production and 5% exports by volume".
First quarter production rose 14.6% to 699,700 units so far up from 610,700 last year. In March alone, 267,500 units left assembly lines, a 25.3% increase over February's 213,500 and 13.5% over the 235,600 built in March last year.
Exports in the first quarter grew 3.3% to 180,200 versus 174,500 last year. In March 67,500 vehicles crossed the Brazilian border, up 1.8% month on month.
Another entity, Fenabrave, with a close eye on the dealers it represents, also reported an improvement in the Brazilian economic scenario. It has confirmed the strong growth of automobiles, light commercial vehicles (pickup trucks and vans) and heavy vehicles (trucks above 3.5 tonnes gross weight and buses).
Therefore it felt safe to review its projections for 2018 vehicle sales announced last January. It now talks of a 15.3% sales increase this year, a more realistic forecast than its earlier 11.8%.
If the Fenabrave forecasts prove correct, Brazil would see 2.55m units sold this year but still far off 2012's record 3.8m.
