Vehicle patents in May totaled 39,549 units, 11.8% above the same month last year, according to the Association of Automobile Dealers (ACARA). So far this year, 198,078 zero kilometers have been patented, a figure that is also 11.8% more than during the first five months of the previous year.
As has been happening since last year, almost 70% of the zero kilometers sold by the concessionaires are manufactured locally, partly because the automotive terminals are dispatching more units to their commercial networks, but above all because of the restriction on the import of vehicles by the Ministry of Commerce, which is in charge of the Import System (SIRA).
Even in this framework of restrictions, dealers are selling more units than a year ago. For Ricardo Salomé, general secretary of ACARA, "this year we will end up with a total saleof between 425,000 and 450,000 units, which will continue to be a figure that falls short. The market is demanding at least 100,000 additional units," the businessman said.
The truth is that a decade ago, the same dealer network sold almost one million units, distributed among twice as many models as can be purchased today.
A comparative study of the domestic market for the sale of zero kilometer vehicles, made by ACARA itself, shows that in 2013 almost 960,000 units were patented and that 80% of sales were distributed among 39 models.
Today, with expectations of reaching the end of the year with a sale of 450,000 vehicles, 80% of those sales are distributed in just 21 models, almost half.
But not only have the conditions of access to vehicles changed, but many of today's customers no longer consider the car as an option.
Volkswagen Gol, in 2013, and Toyota Etios, in 2023: the cheapest 0 kilometers in Argentina.
"10 years ago, almost a million vehicles were sold in the local market and almost half of them were small, entry-level and economy cars. In fact, 80% of patents were distributed in 39 models of 8 brands, "says the study, prepared by the Siomaa statistical center for ACARA.
"The offer of models that gave more volume to the market, in addition to having an impact on the number of patented vehicles (less than half that in 2013), also changed its physiognomy. While small vehicles lose share of total sales, pickups and the SUV segment win. The new local market is no longer a volume market and it seems that it will not be at least for a long time longer," the paper added.
Which vehicles were the best sellers 10 years ago? The 2013 patent report shows the leadership of two models that were at the top of sales for many years, the Chevrolet Classic (37,018 units) followed by the Volkswagen Gol Trend (34,040) and the Renault Clio Mio (33,133). Three small cars totaling 105,000 units and representing 11% of the market.
Chevrolet Classic and Renault Clio, two of the 0km that sold the most ten years ago.
If you add seven other models of small cars located in the "Top 15" of that year as the Peugeot 207 Compact, VW Gol Power, Renault Sandero, Ford Ka, Ford Fiesta Kinetic, Fiat Palio and Chevrolet Celta, together they represented 33% of sales.
Today that ranking is still led by two cars, but in both cases it is about models pulling more to medium than to small: the Fiat Cronos and the Peugeot 208, of local production. They share the podium of the 15 best sellers with two other small / medium cars such as the Toyota Etios and Yaris (Brazilian) and the Renault Sandero and Stepway assembled in Córdoba. Six cars, all located in category B, against ten that ranked ten years ago, most small cars without more laps.
In contrast, today pick-ups predominate. To a large extent, this happens due to the distortion of a market where access to imported SUVs either does not exist, or must be specified at prices that do not justify it, where the dollar bill is combined with internal taxes that increase the prices of high-end units by 50%.
But in addition to the distortions, the ranking shows a change of habit that is consolidating. So far this year, in the ranking of the 15 best sellers there are four locally manufactured pickups (Toyota Hilux, Volkswagen Amarok, Ford Ranger and Nissan Frontier), a utility (Renault Kangoo II) and two SUVs, also locally produced (Chevrolet Tracker and Volkswagen Taos).
"The production of the factories is accompanying the growing supply of national models, which today exceed 64% of the market, which gives us the idea that this trend will continue during the remainder of the year, beyond exchange and electoral issues," added Salomé, of ACARA.
Very few of these models are currently trading below 10 million pesos. And not a few have already exceeded $ 20 million, not counting the surcharges that appear whenever there are distortions in the market. The options for "entry" cars were relegated to the used sector: according to the ranking prepared by the Chamber of Automotive Commerce (CCA), both the Volkswagen Gol and the Chevrolet Classic remain at the top of the transfers.