Mexico 1997-1998: Chevrolet new #1 brand, Nissan Tsuru reclaims top models spot in record market

The Chevrolet C/K Pickup lands at #5 in Mexico in 1997.

New car sales in Mexico continue on their spectacular recovery in 1997 at +67.5% to 504.778 units. Chevrolet (+142%) more than doubles its sales year-on-year to leap from #3 to #1 brand, overtaking Nissan (+64%) while Ford (+89.4%) passes Volkswagen (+31.8%) to land at #3. Honda (+198.9%) and Pontiac (+145.4%) also vastly outpace the market in the Top 10. Model-wise, the Nissan Tsuru (+73%) and Ford F-Series (+81.1%) both pass the VW Beetle (+19.4%) to top the charts with the Chevrolet Joy/Swing (+85.2%) and the new Chevrolet C/K Pickup rounding out the Top 5. The Dodge Stratus (+123.7%) is up to #6 and the Chevrolet Monza (+155.5%) up to #9.

In 1998, the Mexican new light vehicle market jumps 34.1% to break its annual volume record at 676.929 (previous best 635.738 in 1992). Chevrolet (+26.5%) remains the most popular brand for the 2nd year running, followed like last year by Nissan (+49.1%), Ford (+17.1%), Volkswagen (+50.3%) and Dodge (+5.8%). Honda (+128.4%), Chrysler (+88.3%) and Plymouth (+74%) also post spectacular gains in the remainder of the Top 10.  The Nissan Tsuru (+68%) holds onto the models pole position, improving to 10.2% share, while the Chevrolet Joy/Swing (+73.3%) leaps up two spots to #2 ahead of the VW Beetle (+10.3%), Chevrolet C/K Pickup (+23.4%) and VW Jetta (+44.8%). The Ford F-Series (-19.2%) is down 4 spots to #2 while the Chrysler Neon (+132.4%) is back inside the Top 10 at #9.

Previous year: Mexico 1996: Last win for the VW Beetle in recovering market (+75.9%)

Full Year 1997 and 1998 Top 25 All-brands and Top 115 All-models below.