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Global vehicle sales totaled 6.4 million units in August, falling 0.2% from the same period year-ago, marking the first decline since June 2013. This was the lowest monthly volume for the world since February 2013’s 6.1 million-unit finish.
Modest gains witnessed in the Asia-Pacific region and North America were not enough to overcome downfalls posted in Europe and South America.
Deliveries in Europe plummeted 6.1% to just 1.0 million units in August, accounting for 16.9% of worldwide deliveries.
Sales in the region traditionally are lower in August due to the summer holiday, and declines posted in France (-3.2%), Russia (-26.1%) and Turkey (-7.7%) further contributed to the fall. Increases in Germany (+0.3%), Spain (+14.3%) and the U.K. (+9.7%), however, kept the overall decline conservative.
South American deliveries plunged as well in August, down 19.7% to 412,000 units.
Nearly every country reported losses in the month. Sales in Brazil, the region’s largest market, tumbled for the sixth consecutive month, down 17.2%, while Argentina and Uruguay posted declines of 42.5% and 18.1%, respectively. Chile, however, was able to rise above year-ago, with volume up 8.0%.
Sales in the Asia-Pacific region remained slightly above year-ago levels at 2.9 million units, accounting for 46.3% of the global market.
Deliveries rose 1.6% in the region, led by gains in China (+4.0%), India (+8.7%) and Indonesia (+24.1%). Declines in Japan (-9.1%), South Korea (-3.3%) and Australia (-5.6%), however, minimized growth.
North America continued to flourish in August, posting the largest increase among all regions. Sales surged 6.5% in the month to 1.8 million vehicles.
Every country in North America posted solid growth, with Mexico leading the pack, up 17.0% from year-ago. Sales in the country passed 100,000 units for the first time since December when total deliveries topped 120,000. A growing economy and a robustly expanding job market significantly increased consumer confidence in the country, leading to this boost in sales.
Deliveries in Canada also climbed in the month, up 7.7% to 174,502 units, while the U.S. posted a more modest increase of 5.8%, finishing at 1.6 million units.
Through August, 56.6 million vehicles were sold worldwide, up 2.3% from like-2013.
