Brazil April 2023: VW Polo and Honda HR-V stand out in market up 11.2%

The Honda HR-V scores its first Brazilian Top 10 finish since October 2017.

New light vehicle sales in Brazil progress 11.2% year-on-year in April to 151,721 units, although a strong YoY result we are 7.4% below April 2021 (163,902) and 31.4% below pre-pandemic April 2019 (221,321). Fiat (-2.8%) goes against the market and is in negative but still hold a robust 22% share, almost 10 percentage points above the 12.2% it holds at home in Italy. Chevrolet (+14.8%) is solid in 2nd place while Volkswagen (+126.4%) compensates for a particularly weak year-ago volume to 14.2% share vs. 13.8% so far this year. In fact the entire Top 10 is unchanged on March and YTD, with Hyundai (-2.6%), Jeep (-7.8%) and Renault (stable) in tow and underperforming. In contrast, Citroen (+203.3%), Honda (+56.9%) and Nissan (+35%) impress. Below, Ram (+835.6%), Audi (+110.3%) and Porsche (+61.9%) stand out.

Model-wise, the Fiat Strada (+0.9%) keeps the lead with 5.3% of the market, followed this time by the Chevrolet Onix (+32.3%) and the Hyundai HB20 (+9.9%). The VW Polo (+1742.9%!) continues to benefit from the new model and the discontinuation of the Gol and ranks 4th like last month. The below three models underperform: the Fiat Argo (-0.2%), Chevrolet Onix Plus (+1%) and Jeep Compass (+2.8%) all trail the market. Thanks to a new generation, the Honda HR-V (+3976.5%!) leaps up 11 spots on March to #8, the nameplate’s first Top 10 finish since October 2017 (#10) and highest ranking since the #6 it hit in February 2017. The HR-V’s highest ever ranking remains #4 in March 2016. The Fiat Mobi (-20.7%) and Hyundai Creta (+9.5%) close out the Top 10. The Chevrolet Montana (#23), Fiat Fastback (#26) and Citroen C3 (#28) are the most popular recent launches (<12 months).

Previous month: Brazil March 2023: VW Polo and Chevrolet Montana strong in market up 38.3%

One year ago: Brazil April 2022: Market down -16.8%, first Top 5 finish for the Fiat Pulse

Full April 2023 Top 22 brands and Top 125 models below.