MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Brazil is the largest commercial vehicle market in Latin America, and it will continue to drive the overall growth of the market in the coming years, according to Frost & Sullivan.
While commercial vehicle sales in select markets declined by 15 percent to 337,664 units in 2014, compared to the previous year, Frost forecast combined light, medium and heavy truck sales volume will climb to 428,000 units by 2022. Medium- and heavy-duty truck segments are expected to contribute the largest gains.
The countries that experienced a drop in commercial vehicle sales in 2014 included: Argentina (33.4 percent); Brazil (12.3 percent); Mexico (10.8 percent); Chile (13.8 percent); and Peru (17.1 percent).
However, Frost predicted that current and future infrastructure planning and development projects — including growth in the construction and agriculture markets — will spur an increase in heavy-duty and medium-duty truck sales in the coming years.
Heavy-duty trucks dominate the commercial vehicle markets in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru because of key contributing industries, such as mining, agriculture, oil and gas, and infrastructure that require such vehicles for cargo transportation, according to Frost, a Mountain View-based consulting firm that provides market research and analysis.
Light commercial vehicles dominate in Mexico due to high urbanization trends and traffic congestion that do not permit heavy-duty trucks to maneuver in large cities.
Frost noted that European and U.S. original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will continue to dominate the LatAm market, with European OEMs controlling about 73 percent of the market. MAN/Volkswagen A.G. is the top manufacturer with a 28-percent share.
U.S.-based OEMs have a combined 16.2 percent market share, followed by Japanese OEMs with a 2.3 percent market share. Chinese vehicle makers are making in-roads in select markets, according to Frost, with price-competitive product offerings helping them capture a 1.6 percent market share.
Frost also noted that diesel fuel will continue to be the preferred fuel in select LatAm markets because of price and availability; however, alternative fuels, such as natural gas and ethanol, will grow in market participation, mainly in Argentina, Peru and Brazil.