World Vehicle Sales Solid in October

Global vehicle sales climbed 7.8% over year-ago to 7.2 million units in October, with nearly all regions reporting gains from like-2012.

North America rebounded from the 3.1% decline seen in September, with deliveries up 10.0% vs. October 2012. Every country in the region posted increases over year-ago.

Sales in the U.S. rose 10.6% to 1.2 million units, while Mexico saw deliveries climb 5.4% to 91,761. Canada sold 148,848 vehicles in the month, up 7.2%, the largest year-over-year growth for the country since April.

North America held a 20.5% share of the world market in October, third behind the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

Asia-Pacific sales surged 10.9% to 3.3 million units in October, accounting for 45.3% of global volume.

China, the region’s largest market, delivered 1.9 million units in October. This was up 20.2% from like-2012, the largest year-over-year gain for the country since January’s 46.7% hike. Japan sales jumped 17.4% in the month, while India saw volume fall for the 11^th consecutive month, down 5.8%.

Deliveries in Europe remained relatively flat in October, up 1.7% over year-ago. The second straight month of increases for the region could indicate a slight economic recovery. 2011 was the last year that Europe posted sales growth for two consecutive months.

Many of Europe’s larger countries reported only minor increases compared with October 2012. France and Germany posted gains of 2.9% and 2.3%, respectively, while the U.K. recorded a modest increase of 7.0%. Declines in other countries such as Italy (6.4%), Russia (8.5%) and Belgium (5.7%) offset much of this positive growth.

In October, Europe’s share of the world market fell 1.3 percentage points from like-2012 to 21.9%.

South America was the only region to report a drop in sales in October. The region fell 0.2% to 522,000 units, with a majority of the countries posting declines from year-ago.

Brazil sales dropped 3.4% in October, but still posted their highest monthly volume in three months. Deliveries in Chile also fell, down 7.7%, the first year-over-year drop for the country since September 2012. Argentina reported a 20.4% gain over year-ago.

Through October, 70.9 million vehicles were sold worldwide, up 4.0% from like-2012.

[email protected]