In the first four months of the year, 100,000 more brand-new cars were sold than in 2023.

A senior executive in the automotive sector analyzed the preliminary data on new car registrations just days before the end of the fifth month of the year, reflecting a strong start to the year thanks to the successful economic recovery achieved by the Government of Javier Milei.

"The bar was set very high and the scenario shifted with the removal of currency controls and the containment of the dollar. There's no other explanation for the slight decrease in ticket prices, but we're going to end May with more than 50,000 units sold anyway, which is very good and allows us to think that by the end of the year we could be above 620,000 units sold," he explained.

A striking fact emerges from the updated April figures: the Online Information System of the Argentine Automotive Market (Siomaa) indicated that in the first four months of the year, 100,000 more cars were sold than in the same period of the previous year, jumping from 117,700 to 217,400 units.

In this scenario, a 2% or 3% drop compared to the previous month doesn't cause alarm in the sector. "We believe that a false expectation of price decreases was created because the dollar fell, but without a doubt, what slowed down the most was sales to those who speculated on the gap between the official and parallel dollar, which no longer exists," the same source concluded.

With only five days left in the month, automotive manufacturers and importers have already sold nearly 34,000 units, which allows experts in the sector to anticipate a minimum of 52,000 registrations, according to their estimates.

The most chosen brands

Nevertheless, the market brings some surprises. Although the final closing of each manufacturer could change the outlook, Toyota is on track to finish May with remarkable growth. The Japanese automaker currently holds a 21.8% market share, compared to 19% in April and 17% accumulated in the first four months of the year.

This progress is largely explained by the momentum of the Toyota Yaris, its entry-level model, which increased its share from 5.9% to 8% and has already reached 2,691 registered units, matching the total figure from the previous month with five business days still to go.

This trend is also supported by the growth of the Corolla Cross, which rose from 2.7% to 3.3%, and the solid presence of the Hilux, which remains in second place in sales behind the Yaris with a 6.6% market share.

Volkswagen holds the second position, although with a slight decrease in its share, which went from 17.3% to 16.8%. This decline occurs despite a small improvement in the registrations of the Polo and Nivus, which was not enough to offset the decreases observed in Amarok, Taos, and T-Cross.

Fiat ranks third, with a market share of 12.4%, driven by the strong performance of the renewed Cronos, launched this month, which allowed the brand to climb from 4.7% to 5.6% of total registrations.

In fourth place is Chevrolet, which climbed from seventh place with an increase in its share from 8.1% to 9.2%, with one week remaining before the end of May.

Further back is Ford, with a slight improvement from 8.4% to 8.6%, while Renault is currently in fifth position, technically tied with Peugeot: the difference between the two is only six units, so the order could change at any moment. Rounding out the top ten are Jeep, Citroën, and Nissan.

As for the best-selling models, the Toyota Yaris leads the ranking, followed by the Hilux pickup, the Fiat Cronos, the Peugeot 208, the Volkswagen Polo and Amarok, the Ford Ranger, the Chevrolet Tracker, the Toyota Corolla Cross, and the VW Taos, which close the list of the most registered cars in May in Argentina.