In Brazil, sales of imported cars grew 310.9% in July this year compared with the same period in 2007. The figure was disclosed by the Brazilian Association of Vehicle Importer Companies (Abeiva) and concerns wholesale figures by affiliated companies BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Effa Motors, Ferrari, Jeep, Kia Motors, Maserati, Pagani, Porsche and Ssangyong.
Compared with June, sales rose 14.8% in July 2008, totaling 3.949 units. In the accumulated result for the first seven months this year, imported automobile manufacturers sold 17.462 units in Brazil. There was growth of 261.23% over the 4,834 vehicles produced in the same period last year.
The president at the Abeiva, Jí¶rg Henning Dornbusch, stated, in material released by the organization's press office, that with the perspective of arrival of new affiliated companies, the association might revise upward its estimates for the year. The Abeiva maintains, for the time being, a projection of ending the year with 32,000 units sold.
Abeiva's affiliated companies had a 1.47% share of the Brazilian passenger and light commercial vehicle market in July. In the first seven months of the year, the companies had a 1.02% share of the total domestic automobile market.
Sales performance in the retail and licensing markets was similar to that of the wholesale market. A total of 3,922 units were sold in the retail market in July, and 3,752 vehicles were licensed. In the accumulated seven-year result, retail sales totaled 16,751 vehicles, and 15,882 units were licensed.
Anba