SAO PAULO--Brazilian sales of cars and light commercial vehicles
in the first half of July jumped 19% from the year-earlier period
after tax cuts were put in place, but slowed slightly from sales in
the previous month, auto-dealer association Fenabrave said
Tuesday.
Sales of cars and light commercial vehicles totaled 170,636
vehicles, compared with 143,916 in the first half of July 2011, and
175,693 during the first half of June, Fenabrave said on its
website.
Overall vehicle sales, which include heavy trucks, buses,
motorcycles and farm machinery, were up 2.7% from the year-earlier
period, but down 1.2% from the first half of June.
Brazil vehicle sales have stalled this year as slumping global
growth drags down the Latin American economy. Banks have also
pulled back on auto credit this year after Brazilian default rates
on auto loans climbed to record levels. In response to slumping car
sales, the government in May announced cuts in the so-called IPI
tax on manufactured goods as well as reductions in reserve
requirements for banks issuing auto loans.
The stimulus measure had a visible effect, boosting daily auto
sales to about 17,000 units, from close to 13,000 cars sold a day
in previous months. July showed similarly strong daily sales of
about 17,000 autos sold per business day.
With the stimulus measures set to expire at the end of next
month, however, few expect sales growth this year. Fenabrave said
earlier this month that 2012 sales will likely fall 1.5% short of
2011 levels, after previously expecting growth of as much as 5%
this year.
Write to Paulo Winterstein at paulo.winterstein@dowjones.com
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