Brazil March 2011: VW Gol back to #1, JAC do Brasil launches Discover the Top 100 best selling models

* See the Top 100 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

For the first time in months, the Brazilian car market is down: -14% in March at 288,758 registrations. However the year-to-date figure is still up 4% at 777,725 units.

After the Fiat Uno took the first place for the first time last month, the VW Gol reclaims its throne, selling 24,494 units vs. 23,137 for the Uno. 2011 is definitely the year of the Gol-Uno fight! In 3rd the Chevrolet Celta gains 3 spots and one percentage point on February at 4.9% share and 14,045 sales. The Fiat Strada is stable at #5 and the Fiat Palio is up 2 spots at #6.

March 2011 will be remembered as the month the Chinese really landed in Brazil. Until now Chinese brands (Hafei, Chery, Lifan) had adopted a soft start strategy in the country. JAC do Brasil launched with a bang on March 18, which they called J-Day: they inaugurated 50 dealerships across the country simultaneously and hired a famous TV presenter, Fausto Silva, as their ambassador in a multi-million dollar TV campaign. See the TV ad and more about the JAC do Brasil launch here.

JAC J3

The results: the JAC J3 hatchback ranks #100 in March with 324 sales in 10 days, already the best selling Chinese passenger car, and the 3rd best selling Chinese vehicle behind the Hafei Ruiyi and Towner. The JAC J3 Turin sedan sold 131 units. JAC sales target for April have been set at 4,500 units!

Full Top 100 Ranking Table below.