Chile April 2022: First win for the Maxus T60, record market up 39%, Chinese up 95%

The Maxus T60 is the best-selling vehicle in Chile for the first time.

New light vehicle sales in Chile continue to evolve markedly above their year-ago levels, with April sales up a gigantic 39% to a new record for the month at 37,867 units. The year-to-date tally is now up 35.8% to 148,360, believed to be the largest ever at this stage of the year. Passenger Cars shoot up 53.4% in April to 9,624 and are up 14.4% YTD to 39,150, SUVs gain 31.5% in April to 13,089 and 43% YTD to 65,162, pickups are up 60.4% in April to 6,738 and up 62% YTD to 27,561 and Vans are up 16.7% for the month to 4,291 and up 31.7% YTD to 17,487. 

Over in the brands ranking, the leading trio is unchanged on March and YTD: Chevrolet (+11.3%) remains #1 with 8.5% share above Chery (+47.1%) and Toyota (+65.5%). Suzuki (+188.9%) and Maxus (+128%) vastly outrace the market in the remainder of the Top 10. Kia (+38.9%) and Volkswagen (+38.2%) match it whereas Hyundai (+8.3%) and most strikingly Peugeot (-29.4%) underperform. Below, JMC (+455.3%), Haval (+210%), Dongfeng (+183.8%), Ram (+154.2%), JAC (+119.7%) and Renault (+97.9%) are among the best performers. Chinese carmakers as a whole soar 95% to 13,260 and 35% share vs. 25% a year ago in April 2021.

Model-wise we have a big change atop the charts: the Maxus T60 celebrates its very first month win in Chile (and probably the world) thanks to sales up 162.4% year-on-year. There are three Chinese models in the Top 4, with the Chery Tiggo 2 (-1.8%) ranking #3 and the MG ZS (-16.2%) ranking #4. The odd one out is the Suzuki Baleno (+493.1%) up 6-fold year-on-year and 8 spots on last month to #2. The VW Gol (+203.5%) and Kia Morning (+360.4%) also post surreal gains in the remainder of the Top 10. Notice also the Chevrolet N400 Max (+42.8%) up 12 ranks on March to #10 and the Renault Kwid up to #12.

Previous month: Chile March 2022: Mitsubishi L200 and VW Gol atop record market (+27.5%)

One year ago: Chile April 2021: Chevrolet and Peugeot top market up 205.9%, Chinese hold 25% share

Full April 2022 Top 60 All-brands and Top 25 models below.