LatinNews Daily - 9 January 2025

*Brazil’s national federation of automobile dealers (Fenabrave) has released figures on the sector’s performance in 2024, registering a total of 4.74m vehicles sold. This marks a 15.5% increase from 2023. Most of the vehicle categories saw annual sales increases. The category with the highest rise was motorcycles, with 1.88m units sold last year, up 18.6% year-on-year; followed by trucks and light commercial vehicles, with 122,099 (+17.4%) and 536,604 (+17.0%) units sold. Fenabreve also hailed a boost in sales for hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) in the cars and light commercial vehicles categories. A total of 115,777 hybrids were sold last year, up 55.1% from 2023, while EV sales came to 61,585 units, up 218.5%. The types of vehicles and vehicle equipment that saw annual decreases include trailers and towing units, which registered 88,661 units sold, down 1.89%. Agricultural vehicles also saw an annual slump, with 21.6% fewer units sold compared to 2023. In a press release, Fenabreve attributes this decline to wider concerns facing Brazil’s farming sector, such as the impacts of high interest rates and unfavourable climate conditions.