Mexico March 2020: Kia hits record 8% share, Ram (+37.9%) only gainer in market down -25.5%

Ram is the only manufacturer in Mexico to post a year-on-year gain in March.

As of March 31, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mexico amounted to 1.315 and a partial lockdown had just been announced, scheduled to last until May 30. As a result, new car sales are down “only” -25.5% in March to 87.517 units, leading to a -10.9% drop over Q1 to 296.677. However cases soared all through April to reach 17.799 as of April 29, so expect sales volumes from April onwards to suffer a lot more. Brand leader Nissan (-31.1%) continues to underperform but remains on top at a round 20% share but the rest of the Top 5, although in negative, all outpace the market. Chevrolet (-9.6%) stands at 18.1% share ahead of Volkswagen (-15.1%), Toyota (-7.2%) and Kia (-16.8%) reaching a new all-time record share at 8%. Ram (+37.9%) is once again the standout hero of the month, not only managing the only year-on-year gain in the entire market but a spectacular one at that. Subaru (stable), GMC (-3.7%), Porsche (-7.3%), Volvo (-8.3%), Peugeot (-12.8%) and Renault (-14.3%) also resist.

The Seltos helps Kia to a new record share in Mexico in March.

Over in the models ranking, the new generation helps the Nissan Versa (-14.6%) resist better than the market and cement its pole position, distancing the Chevrolet Beat (-24.8%), Nissan March (-24.4%) and Pickup (-35.8%). The now locally-produced Chevrolet Silverado (+536.1%) enjoys a supercharged boost and is up 43 spots on February to land at a record #5. After 14 (!) consecutive month at an all-time high 7th place, the Kia Rio (+1.5%) finally steps up to a new high mark at #6, just as the Chevrolet Onix breaks into the Mexican Top 10 for its third month on sale at #9. The Ram Pickup (+117.9%) continues to evolve at doubles the sales vs. year-ago and the Kia Seltos is back up 18 spots on February to #12 for its third month in market.

Previous month: Mexico February 2020: Ram (+44.5%), Renault (+23.5%) lift market to first “true” gain in almost 3 years (+0.3%)

One year ago: Mexico March 2019: Mazda (+45.8%) stuns, market loss thins to -1.2%

Full March 2020 Top 40 All-brands and Top 295 All-models below.