Car sales plummet almost 50% in March

SANTIAGO.- Car sales registered a sharp decrease of almost 50% during March, when a total of 11,364 brand new lightweight vehicles were sold.

According to the National Automobile Association (ANAC), 6,664 of those sold were cars or passenger vehicles, while 1,915 were SUVs and 2,782 were lightweight commercial vehicles.

When compared to the figure for March of 2008, there is a decrease of 47.6% which, according to the ANAC, is in line with the organization's market forecasts for this year, which predict the sale of approximately 130,000 vehicles.

With regards to brands, the market has been led by Chevrolet, with 1,759 vehicles and 26.4% of market participation. Hyundai came in second place with 1,515 cars sold and 13.3% of the market share, while Kia was reported third with 1,084 units sold and 9.5% of the market share.

"While it is true that we continue to see sharp declines in sales compared to 2009 (…), in comparison to January and February of this year, March was a bit more active and this is reflected in the lower dollar exchange rates, the recent interest rate cuts, and the incorporation of unemployment insurance in credit loans", stated Iván Silva, the Executive Vice President of ANAC.