Chile is among the 25 countries with the highest new car sales in 2022

The 2022 season has become a record year for the national automotive industry, since with the 426,777 units of new vehicles registered it has become the best in history, but it has also allowed it to climb in a world ranking and to settle in 23rd place in the countries with the best sales of new cars last year.

According to the information collected by the team MV motors organizations that group brands in certain countries (similar to ANAC in Chile), as well as information from specialized sites such as focus2.move and statista.com, among others that collect data on vehicle sales, such as In recent years, the list continues to be led by far by China, which in 2022 sold more than 23.5 million units in its local market, which represents a 10% increase compared to the same previous year.

In second place was the United States, a country that saw a 7.8% drop in light vehicle registrations (buses and trucks are not added).

For the northern country, the numbers were the worst in a decade and were only topped in years when sales were recovering from the Great Recession.

The main problems encountered in the United States were the lack of parts and logistical problems due to a shortage of chips. Added to this was the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a key auto parts supplier, which exacerbated supply chain problems.

In the top ten, the huge lead of India stands out, which increased by 23% compared to 2021. The Asian country achieved the highest sales in its history thanks to the fact that it managed to control microprocessor issues and due to the increased supply of products

Another point of the ranking to highlight is the strength that Brazil have retained. The Latin American giant remained the world’s sixth power in the sale of new vehicles, despite having to deal with a slight drop of 0.8%.

Of the rest of the countries, Russia’s decline was to be expected given the problems it has been going through since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Due to the conflict, sales in the Eurasian country dropped by almost 60%, major Western brands left the country, and it went from competing in the top 10 to almost leaving the top 20.

The other countries that suffered significant falls are the major European powers, with the sole exception of Germany. The others, including the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy, saw their sales fall sharply, also driven by the aftermath of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

On the other hand, the strongest gains were in Asia, where besides India, which we mentioned above, Indonesia and Vietnam also grew by more than single digits.

Vietnam, for example, is the country that has improved the most among the top 30 with a 24% increase. The increase was attributed to government policies that reduced vehicle registration tax by 50% in the first five months of 2022, coupled with the launch of new, mostly low-cost models.

Regarding Chile’s position, a very important place given the size of the population and the fact that there is no local production, Diego Mendoza, Secretary General of the National Automobile Association of Chile, said that “this ranking confirms that Chile has one of the most important and competitive automotive markets in the world with 72 brands of different origins, 512 models and 1,973 versions available for sale, thanks to the wide range offered by the industry and the more than 30 trade agreements and FTAs ​​we have in force.This allows new vehicles to be cheaper to enter the country compared to those of other nations, and this ensures that there are no barriers to entry or impediments to trade, which ultimately benefits Chilean consumers.”

The executive has also analyzed the change that the vehicle has had in recent years, no longer only as a means of private transport.

“We must highlight the change in the factor of use that cars have experienced in Chile in recent years. Today it is not only a means of moving quickly, comfortably and safely, but it is also used as an essential work tool for entrepreneurs and companies dedicated to the distribution of goods and services, among other functions, which explains, to a large extent, the sales of recent years.

For reference: there are more than 205,000 people who use one of the digital platforms as their main source of work, according to the National Institute of Statistics of Chile. And many of them use the vehicle as their main means of carrying out their work”.