Brazil car sales jump 36 pct, best March on record

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – New car, truck and bus sales in Brazil surged last month to make it the best March on record as consumers flocked to dealerships to benefit from government tax breaks, data showed on Friday.

Sales jumped 36.1 percent in March from February to 271,393 units, the fourth straight month of gains, national dealers’ association Fenabrave said. Compared with March 2008, sales rose 16.9 percent.

Brazil remains one of the few bright spots for global automakers, which have seen March sales plunge 37 percent in the United States, 25 percent in Japan and 19 percent in South Korea. Fenabrave kept its forecast for a 3.1 percent increase in sales in 2009 because of the tax breaks and as local interest rates fall.

“The worst of the crisis is behind us,” said Sergio Reze, president of the Fenabrave. “Of course we are celebrating, but we need to have our feet on the ground.”

Reuters