AD_MAGAZINE_352

33 AutoData | February 2019 +3,7% 2017 5 270 2018 5 464 Total 2 566 2 239 1 421 1 530 802 901 417 360 256 238 Disclosure/Renault the last two months of the year, November and December, registered a reduction of 46% and 40.5%, respectively, in the annual comparisons. The plants installed in Argentina pro- duced 466 thousand 700 vehicles last year, less 1.4% compared to 2017. For Abe- ceb, 2019 you will see a small increase in 2019, to 480 thousand units. The reason is exports, which reached 269,3 thousand in 2018, an increase of 28,5% thanks mainly to the performance of the Brazilian ma- rket - which bought 69% of the Argentine vehicles destined abroad. Central America was the second big- gest customer of the Argentine exports last year, with 6,1% of the total, leaving Chile right behind it, with 6%. For Abeceb, the Argentine exports will have a double-digit increase once again in 2019, to a volume close to 300 thou- sand vehicles, which, if confirmed, would indicate an advance close to 11%. MEXICO Mexican numbers last year were ne- gative only in terms of domestic market. pared to 2017 was, in absolute number, of 194 thousand vehicles. ARGENTINA Brazil’s neighbor and biggest trading partner in Mercosur ended 2018 with a difficult picture: according to Adefa, Asociación de Fábricas de Automotores (Association of Automotive Makers), the domestic retail market, in other words, sales from factory to the dealerships, clo- sed below 700 thousand units, in exact 681 thousand 816, a retraction of 23% in relation to the total in 2017. The association did not release projec- tions for 2019, but AutoData exclusively listened to the local Abeceb consultancy, which calculated a year with only 570 thousand units, which would represent a new decrease of 15%. In retail sales, revealed by Acara, Aso- ciación de Concesionarios de Automoto- res de la Republica Argentina (Automobile Dealerships Association of Argentina), the domestic market closed 2018 with 803 thousand sales, decrease of 11%. The scenario is not encouraging at all because The main markets of Latin America Brazil Mexico Argentina Chile Colombia +14,6% -7% -10,9% +15,6% +7,7% Source: Anfavea, AMIA, Acara, Andemos and Anac In thousands of units