Brazil auto sales rise 36.2 pct in March-Anfavea

Mon Apr 6, 2009 12:43pm EDT
SAO PAULO, April 6 (Reuters) - Automobile sales in Brazil jumped in March for the fourth straight month, helped by government tax breaks that have allowed dealers to lower consumer prices, the national automakers' association Anfavea said on Monday.
Sales of new cars and trucks soared 36.2 percent to 271,400 units, following a 1 percent increase in February and a 1.5 percent rise in January.
On a year-on-year basis, sales rose 16.9 percent in March.
Auto production soared 34.2 percent in March from the previous month, but it was down 4 percent from March 2008.
Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, is a major market for global automakers such as Italy's Fiat (FIA.MI), Germany's Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE), U.S.-based General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N). Asian and French manufacturers are also increasingly relying on Brazil to offset slumping sales at home. (Reporting by Alberto Alerigi, Writing by Inae Riveras, Editing by Maureen Bavdek)