Venezuela January 2012: A Chinese pick-up lands…

The DongFeng Rich is produced and sold as the Civetchi Pick-up in Venezuela

* See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

The Venezuelan car market starts on a high note in 2012: up 10% year-on-year in January at 6,364 registrations. The Chevrolet Aveo stays comfortably on top with 1,005 sales and 15.8% share, followed on the podium by the Toyota Corolla at 355 units and 5.6%, reaching its highest position in Venezuela at least 2 years and the Chevrolet Cruze with 348 sales and 5.5%, already its second time on the podium since its launch in the country last September.

One of Venezuela’s particularities is that some models have an on and off seesaw sales curb depending on… well to be honest I’m not sure what! Production chains should be working continuously right? Perhaps it’s got to do with which brand is allowed to sell cars in the country in any given month… Anyhow, January is ON for the Mazda BT-50 at #4, the Fiat Siena at #6 and the Peugeot 207 at #7. Other great performers this month include the Toyota Fortuner at #4, Kia Sportage at #12 and Dodge Caliber at #15.

Two models make their very first appearance in the Venezuelan ranking this month: the Citroen Berlingo marks the return of the brand in the country and ranks #18 with 120 sales and 1.9%, while the Civetchi Pick-up, none other than a DongFeng Rich based on a previous generation Nissan Navara, lands at #21 at 112 units and 1.8% for its very first month in Venezuela.

Previous post: Venezuela Full Year 2011: Chevrolet Aveo leads for 7th time

One year ago: Venezuela January 2011: new gen Chevrolet Aveo over 20%!

Full January 2012 Top 30 Ranking Table below.