MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile record sales of cars and computers (over a million in 2010)

Car sales in the first two months of 2011 were 43% up from a year ago

The acceleration of the Chilean economy and the increased purchasing power of Chileans have lead to record sales of cars and computers this year.

In January and February, almost 53,000 vehicles were sold, a 43% increase from this time last year. Generally, the first few months of the year are slower because of the summer holiday period, however these are the highest sales recorded yet.

Truck sales in particular experienced record growth, selling 2,889 vehicles within the last two months. According to the National Automotive Association of Chile (ANAC), these sales demonstrate an increase of 51% from last year.

Gustavo Castellanos, the secretary general of the ANAC, said that sales of some brands may have been favoured with the falling dollar, but noted that there is a wide range of currencies linked to automobile imports.

Chevrolet continues to lead the local industry with a share of 17.6% (9,335 units) of total vehicles sold in the first two months of 2011. Other notable brands include Hyundai, Mercedes Benz and Volvo.

Castellanos estimates that if sales continue to follow the same track, over 325,000 cars will be sold in 2011, an increase of more than 18% since 2010.

The high car sales follow a strong year for the computer industry in Chile, which posted record numbers in 2010.

Computer sales are also expected to increase in 2011.

Computer sales increased by 50% in 2010 with over 1 million units sold. Laptops accounted for 85.5% of these sales, demonstrating a transition favouring portable computers over desktops.

Marcelo Becerra, marketing manager of PC Factory, says the profile of those who use the desktop computer is elementary school students, online gamers, designers, architects and business managers.

While computer sales continue to rise, the desktop computer market has been gradually retreating. Desktop sales decreased by 5% in 2010 compared to the year before.

Rodrigo Duval, product manager of Falabella computing, says that five years ago 6 of every 10 computers sold were desktops, but today it is drastically different, with only 1 of every 10.

By Tatiana Cary – Santiago Times