Despite a local sales slowdown yet to fully hit the lows — May was harder than April — premium and luxury brands have managed to sustain their positions or even improve market share.
From January to May, Mercedes-Benz climbed 31%, Audi, 27% and Subaru, 73% (comparative base for the latter was very low) year on year.
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BMW, however, suffered a 3.5% drop. The Bavarian brand, together with Mini, still believes this will change by year end. It expects to grow 10% due to new models and a capacity increase at the Araquari assembly plant in the state of Santa Catarina from which it will source five models (four BMWs and one Mini).
But even brands like Porsche, with highly priced models, registered a slight 5% drop versus the 20% total market slump. Land Rover dropped 7%, yet the launch of the Discovery Sport should improve sales in the next few months.
According to Paulo Garbossa, of ADK Automotive consultancy, the good results also owe to the fact that importers had not fully applied the dollar upsurge to the Brazilian real and many customers had brought forward purchases.
With the euro devaluation versus the dollar it is possible local automakers may be able to sustain prices for longer period depending on their parent companies’ strategies.
Generally speaking, top end brands are suffering least in the Brazilian market downturn. Last year they outsold 2013 by 18% versus the total car segment’s 9% drop.
Yet some imports that sell well abroad do not appeal much to buyers here. An example is the low selling medium large Japanese Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima.
Even mid size saloons such as Hyundai’s Elantra do not excite: it ranked 13th in registrations in its segment last year despite Hyundai being highly accepted by Brazilians due to the locally made HB20 compact hatchback and sedan.
The Volkswagen Jetta, imported from Mexico but to be produced locally next month in VW’s São Bernardo do Campo plant in Greater São Paulo City, is not a success either. All generations and badges put together, this VW model is among the best sellers worldwide, thanks especially to its sales performance in China.
