Light Vehicles Sales in 2021 Recover by 3 Percent

In April 2020, Mexico saw its lowest light vehicle sales in modern records with only 34,927 units. But in April 2021 sales bounced back with 83,611 units, according to INEGI, a 139.4 percent increase even though data shows that April is usually a low-performing month for the sector.

From January to April 2021, the automotive industry showed a 3.31 percent recovery with sales reaching 342,650 units. For context, monthly vehicle sales in Mexico have averaged at 100,000 units since the sales peak of 2016. During that period, the top 5 sellers remained unchanged. Nissan is leading light vehicle sales with 21.62 percent of the market share, followed by GM with 15.13 percent, Volkswagen with 10.15 percent, Toyota with 8.40 percent and KIA with 7.81 percent. GM, Volkswagen and KIA’s performances were driven by the subcompact segment, which accounted for 53 percent of GM’s sales, 44.2 percent of Volkswagen’s and 40.1 percent of KIA’s. For the last brand, SUVs also played an important role as they accounted for 38.8 percent of sales during the same period.

Toyota’s bestselling segment were SUVs with 23.8 percent of its total sales, followed by pick-ups with 23.3 percent and compact models with 20.6 percent. Nissan's strong performance was driven by compact vehicles, which accounted for 42.3 percent of its sales in the period, followed by pick-ups with 26.5 percent. A notable mention goes to Mazda, sixth in the sales ranking but the only other brand with a market share above 5 percent.

As years go by, the SUV segment continues to grow. In the first four months of 2021, it accounted for 29.29 percent of total sales, while in 2020 the segment accounted for only 26 percent. The most popular segment remains subcompact vehicles with 29.58 percent of sales, followed by compact vehicles with 20.33 percent and pick-ups with 16.53 percent.

The Fastest and Slowest Recoveries

Four brands increased their sales by over 50 percent increase during March and April 2021 compared to the same period of 2020. Volvo continues to show sustained strong performance with 1,004 sales during those two months. Alfa Romeo grew its sales by 70.4 percent compared to the same period of 2020, Subaru by 60.5 percent and Fiat by 59.2 percent. Other brands with double-digit growth were JAC, Suzuki, Peugeot, Audi, Porsche, Mazda, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai.

Of the top five best-sellers, Nissan’s sales grew by 9 percent in comparison to 2020 but the company has performed sold less than 100,000 units for the period since 2019. KIA grew by 8 percent and Toyota by 4 percent. On the other hand, Volkswagen’s sales shrank by 6 percent, with sales declining consistently since 2017. GM’s sales decreased by 8 percent while Honda and premium brands such as Acura, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Lincoln, decreased at double-digit rates during this period.