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.
