Brazil Passenger Car Sales : 2024

Registrations were down 2% in December but up 13% for the year. The top selling brands all had falls in share which is unusual apart from a slight increase from VW. I think the arrival of Chinese brands and their recent success has been a contributor to that. 

BYD (+276%), Chery (+71%) and GWM (+144%) lead the charge for China. Ford ceased production here which saw sales plummet but are now on a rebound if not enough to return to former glory. Import duty will see to that. 

Anfavea, Abeifa. 

Brazil Passenger Car Sales : 2023

Registrations were up 14% in December and +7% for the year. Not every brand is listed here and the 'Other' figure is climbing, possibly new brands not listing sales anywhere. The important ones are here though. Nearly 50% of all sales are currently held by just three brands. It was the best year since 2019.

The General was at the top but it's quite volatile among the top three. It doesn't take much to change the order which is what's happened this year with VW and Fiat have passing it. Honda and Nissan are doing well and BYD has made quite a splash after some years of doing little. Land Rover is starting to get Defender models and that is lifting that marque. 

The 'Diff' column shows market share change. 

Data source: Anfavea, Abeiva.

Brazil Top 50 Cars/LCVs : 2023

The Fiat Strada took the top spot (see picture above). The VW Polo is the top selling car ahead of the Chevrolet Onix. The Onix however had third and fifth podium finishes with two cars with the same name! The difference is the Onix is a hatchback (picture below) and the Plus is a 4-door car (picture at the bottom of the article). Combined they would be well ahead. It may seem a bit odd but in South America, it's a common practice. On the list below you will see HB, denoting a hatchback. 

The colour coding shows where the brand name is associated with. There is a broad mix of Euro (pale blue), USA (dark blue), Japan (yellow) and Asia (pale brown). A broad mix of origins. 

Data source: Fenebrave.

Brazil Top 50 Sales By Model : 2022

Hyundai has the top selling model for '22, the same result as the previous year. The HB20 (picture above has that distinction. The next is the Chevrolet Onix (picture below the chart) which moved up two places. 

In Brazil models are counted by body style so an HB is a hatchback and a sedan is what it is. With the Onix, the Plus model is the sedan, to make it a bit more confusing for those of us living far away. Models are broken down to body shape, perhaps to make people think they have more choice than they really do. 

Brazil Sales : 2022

Registrations for December were up 5% but for the 2022 1%. With different associations providing data, often the total by brands exceeds the collective one. So the total figure below is a reasonable estimate that accommodates the discrepancy. 

GM jumped back to the top with a 27% improvement in market share. Fiat maintained its place as VW fell from the top to third. Toyota is improving as is Peugeot but Honda is pulling back and Ford is exiting the market altogether. There's a fine line between protecting local manufacturing and offering a reasonably wide choice of cars. For now, the choice is limited but not desperately low. 

Data source: Anfavea, Abeifa.

Brazil Top 50 Sales By Model : 2021

I colour coded the list to show where brands historically originated. It shows a broad mix without a clear leading region. Some of the models are broken down into sedan and hatch which is not a general practice. Ford has left off selling cars here and the Ka model freefell out of the list. At least Chevrolet and Jeep are keeping a US presence.

Data source: Fenebrave.

Brazil Sales : 2021

After five years of GM being the leading brand, that position has been taken over by VW in 2021. Fiat, Hyundai and Chrysler (Jeep) have all progressed well. GM's drop in volume is substantial due to various issues but has no plans to leave. Ford however ended production at the beginning of the year and registrations are reflecting that decision. 

Mercedes-Benz is ending car production but the effect on sales is yet to be fully felt. Will Audi follow suit? BMW continues with its local assembly and Land Rover is persisting with its low volume operation too. Its overall registrations grew but Jaguar not so (which fully imports). 

Registrations for December were -20% and -4% for 2021 in full. The '+/-' column below is comparing market share variance for 2021 with 2020. For the size of the market, the variety of brands isn't that wide but imports tariffs usually have that effect. 

Point of interest: Electric cars amounted to just under 2,900, up 250 units. Hybrids were just over 32,000, a much better result. Unless there are generous incentives, a satisfactory charging infrastructure and reasonably small distances to travel, then electric cars are a winner. 

Data sources: Anfavea, Abeiva.

Brazil Premium Comparison : 2018-20

Things changed here for the premium marques. BMW had a good year and consolidated its position at the top. Mercedes fell two places so Audi found itself still fourth despite doing that well. The big winner here was Volvo, who pushed into second place. JLR wasn't too flash but is still well ahead of an improving Porsche. Lexus sales halved!

Brazil Top 50 Models : 2020

Brazil Car Sales : 2020

Registrations were down 10% in December and -29% for the year. The country is perceived to have taken a low key approach to COVID-19 and its effects on car sales hit somewhat late but improved by December. Sales were the worst since around 2006 and just over a third lower than the average for the last decade. 

Only one brand increased (green) plenty lost sales but improved their share (pale blue) and the rest were doing it tougher (yellow).

GM has a strong following here and it about maintained its share, ending on 18.9%. VW, Fiat and Hyundai all closed the gap but Renault and Ford pulled back. Chinese brand Chery now makes cars in Brazil and has benefited from the advantage that provides. 

Ford has now announced it is pulling out of manufacturing in Brazil, started something like a century ago. It will still source cars from nearby plants in other countries in South America. Sales will be on a more limited scale. Mercedes-Benz started making passenger cars in Brazil in 2016 but has decided it isn't viable to continue. 

Data source: ANFAVEA, ABEIVA.

Brazil Pick Up Sales : 2015-19

The Brazil market for pick-up trucks favours small units. This is well catered for by European marques, with Fiat and VW especially benefitting. They are based on on small cars which helps to keep them cost effective. As examples the Fiat Strada was from the Palio model (now on a new, dedicated platform for 2021), the VW Saveiro on the Gol and the Chevrolet Montana from the Corsa. 

The small utes have been losing out to their larger counterparts of late, with afore mentioned Strada, Saveiro and Montana all down the past five years. 

The Fiat Toro Hilux leads the mid-sized brigade, from the Hilux and the Chevrolet Colorado, which has losing a bit of ground over the past few years. 

For more on pick-ups, try these if you wish.

2019: Australia/New Zealand/South Africa 

2015-19: Belgium Denmark France Iceland Italy Sweden United Kingdom

Argentina Indonesia Thailand

2015: World Top 50

Brazil Top 50 Models : 2019

The spread of brands and the nations they represent is diverse here. The chart is like a rainbow for colours. Japan is most common but not so much at the top end of the list, none in the top ten. As a contrast, the USA has five top ten placings.

On a different tangent, I hope that title doesn't attract viewers expecting something else.

Rk	Brand	Model	2019	2018	+/-		Japan
1	Chevrolet	Onix	241,214	210,458	15%		13 models
2	Ford	Ka	104,331	103,286	1%		26%
3	Hyundai	HB20	101,590	105,506	-4%
4	Renault	Kwid	85,117	67,320	26%		Europe
5	VW	Gol	81,285	77,612	5%		12 models
6	Fiat	Argo	79,001	63,011	25%		24%
7	Chevrolet	Prisma	73,721	71,735	3%
8	VW	Polo	72,057	69,584	4%		USA
9	Jeep	Renegade	68,726	46,344	48%		12 models
10	Jeep	Compass	60,362	60,284	0%		24%
11	Hyundai	Creta	57,460	48,976	17%
12	Toyota	Corolla	56,727	59,062	-4%		Germany
13	Nissan	Kicks	56,062	46,812	20%		9 models
14	Fiat	Mobi	53,444	49,491	8%		18%
15	Ford	Ka Sedan	51,260	39,027	31%
16	Renault	Sandero	50,303	52,401	-4%		Asia
17	Honda	HR-V	49,488	47,959	3%		4 models
18	VW	Virtus	46,876	41,634	13%		8%
19	VW	Fox	38,487	39,260	-2%
20	Toyota	Yaris HB	37,686	18,584	103%
21	VW	T-Cross	37,081		n/a
22	Hyundai	HB20S	34,893	32,155	9%
23	Ford	EcoSport	34,206	34,497	-1%
24	VW	Voyage	32,055	32,683	-2%
25	Toyota	Yaris Sedan	29,759	13,674	118%
26	Renault	Captur	28,660	26,504	8%
27	Chevrolet	Spin	28,361	25,192	13%
28	Honda	Civic	27,318	25,942	5%
29	Renault	Logan	27,003	22,471	20%
30	Chevrolet	Onix Plus	26,852		n/a
31	Renault	Duster	26,090	23,579	11%
32	Honda	Fit	24,457	27,359	-11%
33	Fiat	Cronos	24,080	29,307	-18%
34	Nissan	Versa	21,779	27,993	-22%
35	Fiat	Uno	19,928	15,151	32%
36	Toyota	Etios HB	18,963	27,874	-32%
37	Chevrolet	Cruze Sedan	17,829	19,828	-10%
38	Citroën	C4 Cactus	16,438	3,093	431%
39	Chevrolet	Tracker	16,333	26,100	-37%
40	Fiat	Siena	16,188	17,470	-7%
41	Honda	City	14,578	14,900	-2%
42	Toyota	Hilux SW4	13,523	13,481	0%
43	VW	Up!	13,460	20,563	-35%
44	Toyota	Etios Sedan	13,305	21,207	-37%
45	Chevrolet	Cobalt	13,103	21,488	-39%
46	VW	Tiguan	13,074	5,771	127%
47	Honda	WR-V	12,160	14,797	n/a
48	VW	Jetta	11,248	4,405	155%
49	Peugeot	2008	8,693	9,745	n/a
50	Chery	Tiggo 5X	7,971	5,102	56%