Total new car sales in South America for the first nine months of 2007 rose 22.8% to 2,434,742 units while Q3 volume was up 27.9% to 897,521 units.

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“We have now added volumes data from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay to the existing data from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela. With this increased analysis, it’s clear to see just how robust the South American market is,” said a spokesman for Jato Dynamics, which compiled the data.


“It’s a marked difference from the North American market that still continues to struggle.”


Brazil is the largest market in the region with 1,459,127 units sold YTD, up 22.1%. Argentina is up 26.3% to 350,667 units and Venezuela up 49.8% to 272,626.


Uruguay slipped slightly during the third quarter, but remains slightly ahead of 2006 YTD at 12,339. Peru fell considerably in the third quarter with the YTD off 12.7% to 13,946. The earthquake in the country in August may be a contributing factor.

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Chevrolet – many are rebadged Opel models or Opel-based ‘home-growns’ supplemented by Korean Daewoo products and the odd Holden – was the region’s top new car brand YTD with a market share of 22.9%, ahead of Volkswagen, Fiat, Ford and Renault. Chevrolet again led in Q3, but Fiat slightly out-performed Volkswagen (by a mere 91 units) to secure second place.


“It’s also interesting to note that Chinese manufacturers such as Chery, Geely, Great Wall and BYD have started exports to the region, most notably to Venezuela and Chile,” said Jato’s spokesman. “While their combined total sales of 7,423 units is a tiny share of the overall market so far in 2007, their presence in the region is still worthy of note.


The Volkswagen Gol was the best-selling car in the region, YTD, followed by the Fiat Palio, Chevrolet Corsa, Volkswagen Fox, Ford Fiesta, Fiat Uno, Chevrolet Celta, Fiat Siena, Peugeot 206 and Chevrolet Classic.


The best-sellers list was much the same for the third quarter, except the Fiat Uno outsold the Ford Fiesta into fifth place. Most of the top-selling models have benefited from the growth of the overall market. New introductions that have performed well in the market include the Chevrolet Prisma (a saloon derivative of the Celta), Renault Logan, Volkswagen Jetta, Fiat Punto and Chevrolet Captiva.


The region is dominated by demand for small cars, which accounted for over 50% of the total market in the period Jan-Sept 2007. The segment, led by the Volkswagen Gol, Fiat Palio and Chevrolet Corsa, was up 22.9% YTD, slightly increasing its share of the overall market.


The second-largest segment is lower-medium cars, with a market share of 15.9%. This segment, which is led by the Fiat Siena, Renault Mégane and Chevrolet Optra, has experienced the most growth with YTD sales up 51.1%.