Mexico May 2020: Toyota (-35.6%), Mercedes (-38.2%) fare best in market collapsing -59%

Toyota RAV4 sales surge 92.7% in a market down -59%.

1/07 update: Now with actuals for Top 40 All-brands and Top 285 All-models.

In the two weeks since we published the April 2020 article, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mexico have flared up from 71.105 to 129.184, with the country consistently ranking #3 in the global death count with 11.892 over the past month, below just the US (33.396) and Brazil (28.557). Despite this dire situation, the country is easing lockdown measures which could prove problematic in the long term, notably in the multiple automotive factories based locally but geared towards the North American market. In May, new light vehicle sales in Mexico dive -59% year-on-year to 42.028 units, a slight improvement on April (-64.5%) which pulls the year-to-date tally down -30% to 373.608.

Nissan (-55.9%) does slightly better than the market and remains above the symbolic 20% share whereas Chevrolet (-64.2%) drops to an estimated 13.1% share vs. 15.9% so far in 2020. Toyota (-35.6%) once again posts a strong hold to step up to third place overall, knocking Volkswagen (-72.5%) out of the podium. Kia (-64.4%) is stuck at #5 above Ford (-49%) and Mazda (-49.9%) both containing their losses somewhat. Ram (-39.7%) scores the second best hold in the Top 10. Strikingly, Mercedes (-38.2%), Subaru (-39.4%), GMC (-50.4%), JAC (-50.8%), Renault (-54.3%), Jeep (-55.6%), Suzuki (-55.6%) and Porsche (-58.5%) are the only remaining brands outpacing the market: 8 out of 30.

The Nissan Versa (-32.8%) continues to easily lead the models ranking ahead of the Nissan Pickup (-48.7%), Chevrolet Beat (-70.7%), Nissan March (-54.1%) and Chevrolet Aveo (-77.6%). The Chevrolet Onix tops recent launches at #8 above the Kia Seltos (#15), Mazda CX-30 (#37), VW Virtus (#62) and Mercedes GLB (#67), the latter doing proportionately extremely well in Mexico. The Toyota Hilux (-25.8%) resists best in the Top 10 and its up to a fantastic 7th place. The Toyota RAV4 (+92.7%), Prius (+52.4%), Chevrolet Tornado (+7.9%) and Ford Transit (+2.3%) post the only gains in the Top 55.

Previous month: Mexico April 2020: Ram (-45.8%), Toyota (-53.3%), Mazda (-55.3%) resist in market down -64.5%

One year ago: Mexico May 2019: Kia breaks share record, Suzuki celebrates 2 years of double-digit gains in market down -10.8%

Full May 2020 Top 40 All-brands and Top 285 All-models below.