Automakers have best January sales history

Preliminary numbers indicate automakers plates issued began the year with the best January in history in vehicle sales. Until Wednesday, the licensing-between cars, trucks and buses-were already near the 285 thousand units, with an increase of 1.9% compared with the performance of a year ago.
Adding to the volumes of yesterday and today, the trend is that the market close with high exceeding 1% of the 311.5 million vehicles sold in January 2013, which, for now, represents the best start to the year for the sector.
The performance is being celebrated by the industry because January is traditionally a weak month, when consumers, in General, has already spent a good part of the thirteenth salary and still have the traditional expenses committed income beginning of year, as spending on school supplies and paying taxes.
But analysts, and even some executives from automakers, the result does not indicate trend because it was pulled by a passing situation: the race of consumers to stores in search of the latest cars in stock with lower tax rate in the tax on industrialized products (IPI).
The expectation of most of them is that consumption waste breath when the market have available only the cars with price adjusted for redialling of the tribute, or by mandatory installation, also from this month of new security equipment-airbags and antilock brakes.
The January performance itself has already indicated a reduction in the sales pace as inventories of vehicles with the IPI old were running out. After closing the first half a little above 15 thousand units, the daily average of plates issued fell for 12 thousand cars in the following days, contrary to the usual increase in licenses in the last weeks of the month. "In recent days, the market has slowed down a lot and the numbers were closer to the typical volumes of January," says Rodrigo Nishida, an analyst at LCA.
Still, sales of cars and light utility vehicles except, therefore, the trucks and buses account-go to close January above 300 thousand units. The analysts ' forecasts range from an increase of 1% to 3% over the already good performance January 2013, when were recorded 297.2 thousand plates issued. Until last Wednesday, this month's sales already exceeded 273 thousand cars.
"What has set the month was the search for products with lower IPI", commented Rogelio Golfarb, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Ford, adding that automakers were also aggressive discounts to dump stocks.
According to preliminary balance of the consultancy Oikonomia, Fiat remains in the lead in this new year, with market share of 21%. As a result, the Volkswagen (18.6%), followed closely by General Motors (GM), which has, so far, 18.1% of total sales. The slice of Ford, fourth placed, at 9.9%. The consolidated balance sheet total and sales of brands holdings should be disclosed on Monday by Fenabrave, the entity of car dealerships.