Brazil September 2015: Chevy Onix retains crown, Renegade outsells Gol

October 7, 2015
Matt Gasnier
2 Comments

Just what the Brazilian consumer ordered: the Jeep Renegade outsells the VW Gol in September.

* See the Top 20 best-selling brands and Top 130 models by clicking on the title *

The word crisis is adequate: Brazilian new car sales are falling deeper and deeper into oblivion with September sales down an abysmal 32% year-on-year to just 192.610 registrations, meaning the year-to-date total is now down 22% on 2014 at 1.881.671 units. We have rarely seen such disparate evolutions in the Brazilian brands ranking. The “Brazil 3” – in analogy to the Detroit 3 – continue to implode: each manufacturer sees its sales almost cut in half in the space of a year. Fiat is still leader but down 46% to 16.6% share, followed by Chevrolet (-45%) and Volkswagen (-42%). The next five carmakers all fit between 7 and 10% market share this month and are all gaining share – if not volume. Ford, helped by the success of the new Ka, is down ‘just’ 22% to hold 10.1% of Brazilian sales this month, distancing Hyundai (-22%), and Toyota (-18%). Honda is in a class of its own thanks to the locally-assembled HR-V, gaining 14% to snap at Renault’s heels with 13.808 sales and 7.2% share.

Mercedes sales are up 59% year-on-year in a market down 32%…

Then we have Jeep. Initiating Brazilian manufacturing may be the brand’s best worldwide idea yet: the Renegade continues to fly off dealerships across the country as quickly as cheap feijoada, the national food. A record 5.676 found a new home this month, meaning the Renegade outsold the once uncontested Brazilian leader, the VW Gol, which sold just 5.254 units in September! The Renegade represents 97% of Jeep sales in Brazil for the month and 90% so far in 2015, lifting the brand to an all-time high 9th and 12th places respectively. The last striking 2015 trend in Brazil is the insolent health of the luxury German brands: Mercedes is up an unbelievable 59% in September to break the 2.000 monthly sales milestone for the first time in its history, while Audi is up 34% to 1.433 units. If BMW is down 18% this ,month, it is up 2% year-to-date (Mercedes +44%, Audi +40%).

The Chevy Onix and Hyundai HB20 dominate the Brazilian market for the first time.

The September models ranking is even more surprising… Exactly one year ago I detailed the striking new trends that rippled through the Brazilian market. At the end of 2014 the Fiat Palio achieved the unthinkable, ending 19 consecutive years of VW Gol reign. The Brazilian models charts used to be utterly predictable, but in the space of 18 months everything changed. A freefalling market has redistributed the cards: the efforts of international behemoths such as Hyundai to design and assemble locally cars dedicated to the Brazilian consumer are now paying off, while decades of laziness from manufacturers that used to hold a quasi-monopoly on sales have ended.

The current generation Toyota Corolla is the most successful to-date in Brazil: up to #8.

Chevrolet is reaping the benefits of choosing to break the status quo with the Onix, the overall best-seller in Brazil for the 2nd month running despite sales down 24% to 10.212. For the first time the Onix is directly followed by the Hyundai HB20, down 10% to 8.889 sales and overtaking the Fiat Palio, down 45% to 8.761 but still #1 year-to-date at 92.087 deliveries (-28%) vs. 87.725 (-16%) for the Onix. The trend looks set to continue if we look at the past 12 months: both the Onix and HB20 have been losing significantly less ground than the Palio all through the year. Could the Palio domination, only just starting, already be coming to an end? Probably not in 2015, but 2016 will be a different story.

First Brazilian Top 10 ranking for the Honda HR-V.

Just below the Palio we have another 2015 success story: the Ford Ka gains two spots on August to rank #4 overall and #5 year-to-date, the Renault Sandero maintains itself at a shiny 7th place thanks to the new generation while the Toyota Corolla is up two ranks to #8, to BSCB knowledge the legendary nameplate’s highest ever position in Brazil. The Honda HR-V brilliantly breaks into the Brazilian Top 10 for the very first time in September at #10 with 5.747 sales and 3% while the Jeep Renegade stops only 71 units short of doing so at #11 and 5.676 deliveries.

Renault Oroch

As detailed above, the Renegade outsells the Gol, itself down a devastating 58% to #12, hitting for the 2nd month in a row the lowest monthly ranking of its 35 year-career (the Gol launched in Brazil in 1980) – and the first time it ranks outside the Top 10. Finally, September marks the first appearance in the Brazilian sales charts of the all-new Renault Oroch, the pick-up variant of the Duster: it lands at #87 with 273 sales.

Previous month: Brazil August 2015: Chevrolet Onix takes the lead for the first time

One year ago: Brazil September 2014: VW Gol down to #4, Ford Ka up to #12

Full September 2015 Top 20 brands and Top 130 models below.

Brazil September 2015 – brands:

Pos	Brand	Sep-15	%	/14	Aug	2015	%	/14	Pos	FY14
1	Fiat	31,900	16.6%	-46%	1	342,717	18.2%	-34%	1	1
2	Chevrolet	27,202	14.1%	-45%	3	289,018	15.4%	-31%	2	2
3	Volkswagen	26,814	13.9%	-42%	2	283,207	15.1%	-33%	3	3
4	Ford	19,513	10.1%	-22%	4	200,844	10.7%	-7%	4	4
5	Hyundai	15,860	8.2%	-22%	5	151,653	8.1%	-10%	5	6
6	Toyota	14,411	7.5%	-18%	7	132,559	7.0%	-3%	7	7
7	Renault	14,138	7.3%	-32%	6	134,779	7.2%	-20%	6	5
8	Honda	13,808	7.2%	14%	8	112,551	6.0%	17%	8	8
9	Jeep	5,848	3.0%	1459%	10	22,746	1.2%	1159%	12	n/a
10	Nissan	5,621	2.9%	-16%	9	46,468	2.5%	-6%	9	9
11	Mitsubishi	3,227	1.7%	-45%	11	32,510	1.7%	-25%	10	10
12	Citroen	2,333	1.2%	-41%	12	23,734	1.3%	-43%	11	11
13	Peugeot	2,248	1.2%	-30%	13	20,056	1.1%	-36%	13	12
14	Mercedes	2,014	1.0%	59%	15	14,728	0.8%	44%	14	14
15	Audi	1,433	0.7%	34%	14	12,439	0.7%	40%	16	16
16	BMW	1,110	0.6%	-18%	17	10,974	0.6%	2%	17	15
17	Kia	1,085	0.6%	-46%	16	12,518	0.7%	-29%	15	13
18	Land Rover	847	0.4%	2%	18	6,363	0.3%	-10%	18	18
19	Chery	498	0.3%	-43%	19	4,311	0.2%	-36%	19	17
20	Suzuki	434	0.2%	-1%	20	4,056	0.2%	-5%	21	20
21	Lifan	397	0.2%	-13%	21	3,696	0.2%	13%	22	n/a
22	JAC	322	0.2%	-51%	22	4,070	0.2%	-40%	20	19

Brazil September 2015 – models:

Pos	Model	Sep-15	%	/14	Aug	2015	%	/14	Pos	FY14
1	Chevrolet Onix	10,212	5.3%	-24%	1	87,725	4.7%	-16%	2	4
2	Hyundai HB20	8,889	4.6%	-10%	3	78,867	4.2%	-8%	4	6
3	Fiat Palio	8,761	4.5%	-45%	2	92,087	4.9%	-28%	1	1
4	Ford Ka	7,486	3.9%	6%	6	69,564	3.7%	546%	5	25
5	Fiat Strada	7,116	3.7%	-50%	4	79,455	4.2%	-31%	3	3
6	VW Fox/CrossFox	6,373	3.3%	-25%	8	63,198	3.4%	-15%	7	9
7	Renault Sandero	6,369	3.3%	-15%	7	58,281	3.1%	-13%	9	10
8	Toyota Corolla	5,775	3.0%	-5%	10	49,591	2.6%	15%	11	14
9	Fiat Uno	5,775	3.0%	-34%	5	62,687	3.3%	-31%	8	5
10	Honda HR-V	5,747	3.0%	new	11	33,183	1.8%	new	16	–
11	Jeep Renegade	5,676	2.9%	new	15	20,513	1.1%	new	29	–
12	VW Gol	5,254	2.7%	-58%	9	63,240	3.4%	-53%	6	2
13	Chevrolet Prisma	4,714	2.4%	-44%	14	49,830	2.6%	-21%	10	11
14	Fiat Siena	4,534	2.4%	-52%	13	46,695	2.5%	-43%	13	8
15	VW Saveiro	4,357	2.3%	-44%	17	46,774	2.5%	-17%	12	12
16	VW Up	4,344	2.3%	-31%	12	41,462	2.2%	0%	14	16
17	Hyundai HB20S	4,170	2.2%	-19%	16	40,234	2.1%	-1%	15	15
18	Honda Fit	3,512	1.8%	-40%	19	32,855	1.7%	-7%	19	18
19	VW Voyage	3,192	1.7%	-43%	23	32,955	1.8%	-43%	18	13
20	Toyota Etios Hatch	2,805	1.5%	-17%	20	26,720	1.4%	0%	21	28
21	Ford Fiesta Hatch	2,781	1.4%	-57%	18	32,961	1.8%	-64%	17	7
22	Toyota Hilux	2,747	1.4%	-27%	25	25,151	1.3%	-18%	26	26
23	Renault Duster	2,698	1.4%	-33%	21	25,672	1.4%	-24%	23	21
24	Ford Ecosport	2,655	1.4%	-42%	22	26,357	1.4%	-35%	22	17
25	Ford Ka Sedan	2,513	1.3%	new	27	27,052	1.4%	new	20	75
26	Chevrolet S10	2,385	1.2%	-50%	34	25,558	1.4%	-33%	25	20
27	Honda Civic	2,312	1.2%	-51%	26	25,571	1.4%	-37%	24	19
28	Renault Logan	2,240	1.2%	-55%	24	24,570	1.3%	-29%	28	24
29	Nissan March	2,240	1.2%	-12%	32	18,266	1.0%	12%	34	34
30	Toyota Etios Sedan	2,063	1.1%	-16%	28	19,379	1.0%	2%	33	32
31	Chevrolet Classic	1,943	1.0%	-62%	29	24,590	1.3%	-33%	27	22
32	Honda City	1,930	1.0%	171%	35	19,740	1.0%	37%	31	33
33	Nissan Versa	1,873	1.0%	35%	31	11,756	0.6%	29%	42	49
34	Chevrolet Spin	1,806	0.9%	-53%	33	19,946	1.1%	-27%	30	29
35	Chevrolet Montana	1,542	0.8%	-53%	38	19,671	1.0%	-23%	32	30
36	Chevrolet Cobalt	1,430	0.7%	-69%	37	17,714	0.9%	-47%	35	23
37	Citroen C3	1,320	0.7%	-40%	36	13,114	0.7%	-41%	38	31
38	Ford Focus	1,310	0.7%	-17%	30	12,285	0.7%	-27%	40	40
39	Fiat Punto	1,295	0.7%	-7%	39	12,458	0.7%	-37%	39	35
40	Renault Clio	1,246	0.6%	-48%	40	12,001	0.6%	-19%	41	42
41	Chevrolet Tracker	1,182	0.6%	130%	52	7,411	0.4%	-31%	54	53
42	Mitsubishi L200	1,154	0.6%	-45%	43	11,543	0.6%	-24%	45	41
43	Ford Ranger	1,090	0.6%	-46%	42	13,797	0.7%	-23%	37	37
44	Chevrolet Cruze Sedan	1,051	0.5%	-43%	46	9,022	0.5%	-43%	49	36
45	VW Amarok	1,008	0.5%	-24%	44	9,388	0.5%	-29%	48	44
46	Fiat Fiorino	997	0.5%	-56%	41	11,672	0.6%	-34%	43	38
47	VW Jetta	814	0.4%	-19%	50	7,160	0.4%	5%	56	62
48	Peugeot 208	808	0.4%	-62%	49	10,872	0.6%	-38%	46	39
49	Fiat Doblo	803	0.4%	-47%	67	7,765	0.4%	-34%	53	47
50	Fiat Idea	796	0.4%	-34%	75	6,543	0.3%	-52%	59	46
51	Nissan Sentra	768	0.4%	-40%	48	9,827	0.5%	-5%	47	52
52	Hyundai ix35	766	0.4%	-45%	45	11,644	0.6%	3%	44	50
53	Mitsubishi Outlander	757	0.4%	28%	53	6,066	0.3%	17%	62	73
54	Mitsubishi ASX	737	0.4%	-30%	55	7,769	0.4%	-11%	52	59
55	Audi Q3	735	0.4%	117%	51	4,219	0.2%	53%	75	95
56	Nissan Frontier	730	0.4%	-28%	74	4,272	0.2%	-51%	74	60
57	Peugeot 2008	720	0.4%	new	57	3,861	0.2%	new	77	–
58	VW Golf	677	0.4%	-51%	68	7,347	0.4%	-45%	55	48
59	Chevrolet Cruze Hatch	653	0.3%	-54%	60	7,083	0.4%	-43%	58	45
60	Toyota Hilux SW4	652	0.3%	-41%	59	7,123	0.4%	-29%	57	54
61	Ford New Fiesta Sedan	645	0.3%	-42%	54	6,320	0.3%	-37%	61	55
62	Fiat Weekend	644	0.3%	-64%	47	8,464	0.4%	128%	51	72
63	Hyundai Tucson	637	0.3%	-61%	64	8,994	0.5%	-33%	50	43
64	Renault Master	590	0.3%	-51%	65	6,514	0.3%	-26%	60	57
65	Mercedes GLA	584	0.3%	new	71	3,569	0.2%	new	79	140
66	Ford Fusion	572	0.3%	-30%	66	5,720	0.3%	-39%	63	56
67	Mercedes C180	560	0.3%	104%	82	2,858	0.2%	53%	82	104
68	Hyundai HR	503	0.3%	-44%	63	5,016	0.3%	-20%	69	67
69	Renault Fluence	492	0.3%	-3%	56	5,162	0.3%	-7%	67	69
70	Kia Sportage	468	0.2%	-44%	69	5,474	0.3%	-25%	66	64
71	VW Space Fox	463	0.2%	-33%	61	5,146	0.3%	-23%	68	71
72	Land Rover Discovery	451	0.2%	310%	81	1,975	0.1%	86%	93	132
73	BMW 320	431	0.2%	-27%	72	4,003	0.2%	-6%	76	80
74	Hyundai Elantra	426	0.2%	89%	84	2,030	0.1%	-29%	90	99
75	Citroen C4L	425	0.2%	-46%	73	4,370	0.2%	-39%	71	66
76	Peugeot 308	425	0.2%	-7%	77	2,462	0.1%	-43%	84	81
77	Fiat Ducato	416	0.2%	-40%	70	5,607	0.3%	-29%	64	58
78	Ford Focus Sedan	407	0.2%	-43%	62	5,574	0.3%	-20%	65	68
79	Citroen C3 Aircross	348	0.2%	-24%	78	3,621	0.2%	-32%	78	74
80	Fiat Linea	347	0.2%	-55%	80	3,562	0.2%	-26%	80	77
81	Mitsubishi Pajero	341	0.2%	-73%	83	4,274	0.2%	-61%	73	51
82	Audi A3 Sedan	332	0.2%	24%	58	4,431	0.2%	132%	70	106
83	Toyota RAV4	326	0.2%	-51%	79	4,316	0.2%	-30%	72	70
84	Honda CR-V	295	0.2%	-66%	76	1,106	0.1%	-80%	116	76
85	Range Rover Evoque	283	0.1%	-48%	85	3,281	0.2%	-27%	81	78
86	Renault Kangoo	273	0.1%	-15%	95	2,310	0.1%	-28%	87	83
87	Renault Oroch	273	0.1%	new	–	281	0.0%	new	149	–
88	Chery Celer	269	0.1%	16%	n/a	1,000	0.1%	-50%	118	109
89	Lifan X60	254	0.1%	-32%	88	2,173	0.1%	-28%	88	87
90	Mitsubishi Lancer	235	0.1%	-72%	86	2,810	0.1%	-19%	83	88
91	Hyundai Santa Fe	232	0.1%	-44%	98	2,074	0.1%	-36%	89	91
92	Volvo XC60	219	0.1%	9%	92	2,023	0.1%	26%	91	120
93	Fiat Bravo	192	0.1%	-35%	89	2,354	0.1%	-36%	86	89
94	Kia K2500	188	0.1%	-45%	91	2,002	0.1%	-37%	92	93
95	Suzuki Grand Vitara	188	0.1%	0%	102	1,704	0.1%	-20%	100	105
96	Iveco Daily 3514	179	0.1%	-37%	87	1,900	0.1%	-25%	95	98
97	Peugeot 408	179	0.1%	-15%	93	981	0.1%	-67%	119	102
98	Suzuki Jimny	178	0.1%	-16%	96	1,723	0.1%	0%	99	113
99	Troller T4	166	0.1%	-7%	94	1,647	0.1%	90%	102	131
100	BMW X1	164	0.1%	-7%	90	2,363	0.1%	36%	85	119
101	Mercedes C Class	162	0.1%	105%	97	1,618	0.1%	124%	103	141
102	Kia Sorento	141	0.1%	-36%	104	1,615	0.1%	-5%	104	115
103	VW Golf Variant	138	0.1%	new	103	561	0.0%	new	136	–
104	Fiat 500	137	0.1%	-65%	108	1,865	0.1%	-53%	96	85
105	Jeep Cherokee	136	0.1%	-51%	99	1,757	0.1%	26%	98	116
106	JAC T6	133	0.1%	new	100	784	0.0%	new	130	–
107	Citroen C3 Picasso	123	0.1%	-50%	115	1,288	0.1%	-56%	111	97
108	Mercedes C250	117	0.1%	n/a	109	937	0.0%	n/a	123	172
109	Kia Picanto	113	0.1%	-48%	106	1,301	0.1%	-1%	110	126
110	Range Rover	110	0.1%	21%	118	829	0.0%	-4%	126	138
111	VW Tiguan	107	0.1%	-60%	116	1,592	0.1%	-51%	105	92
112	Dodge Journey	101	0.1%	-67%	107	1,680	0.1%	-11%	101	107
113	Mercedes A200	100	0.1%	-31%	125	799	0.0%	-41%	128	128
114	Kia Cerato	99	0.1%	-61%	105	1,374	0.1%	-53%	109	94
115	Chevrolet Trailblazer	96	0.0%	-15%	127	1,181	0.1%	-35%	113	117
116	Citroen Jumper	91	0.0%	-47%	126	965	0.1%	-34%	120	125
117	Fiat Freemont	85	0.0%	-69%	114	1,253	0.1%	-54%	112	96
118	Chevrolet Captiva	85	0.0%	-60%	129	1,057	0.1%	-30%	117	122
119	Peugeot Boxer	84	0.0%	-44%	119	1,129	0.1%	-35%	115	118
120	Mercedes CLA200	82	0.0%	5%	n/a	460	0.0%	-46%	139	142
121	Subaru Forester	80	0.0%	14%	112	890	0.0%	46%	124	146
122	BMW 328	75	0.0%	-29%	128	776	0.0%	39%	131	139
123	Chevrolet Celta	71	0.0%	-96%	101	17,713	0.9%	-40%	36	27
124	BMW X4	71	0.0%	new	124	629	0.0%	new	134	–
125	Lifan 530	70	0.0%	new	123	789	0.0%	new	129	197
126	Hyundai Azera	69	0.0%	-64%	n/a	664	0.0%	-54%	132	127
127	Chery Celer Sedan	69	0.0%	n/a	n/a	474	0.0%	n/a	138	n/a
128	Chery Tiggo	63	0.0%	-70%	117	943	0.1%	-45%	122	111
129	Audi A4	63	0.0%	-56%	113	800	0.0%	-24%	127	133
130	Suzuki SX4	61	0.0%	69%	122	526	0.0%	19%	137	163