Cars: due to the lowering of the blue, the discounts for 0km are deepened

Always the quote of the dollar informal is a fact that is closely followed in the market. Experience indicates that when it is at high levels and there is a significant exchange gap, sales are reactivated because it works as a stimulus for holders of savings in greenbacks.

Last month and even September, with the marginal currency weakening, the logic of a slowdown in consumption was not fulfilled. Dealerships and manufacturers explain this change as a consequence of the greater participation of credit at more reasonable rates and the improvement in the supply of imported vehicles that began to be felt in recent months.

For this reason, despite the weakness of the “blue”, sales continued to grow. The mystery is focused on what will happen these days with a free exchange rate that is around $1,100, something unthinkable in July when it touched $1,500.

In several dealerships consulted explained that It is still premature to make an accurate judgment about what will cause this peso appreciation.

Furthermore, the situation is not the same for all brands or for the cars national, imported or high-end ones. Each segment works differently. While in a dealership of a generalist brand they recognized that demand was less solid, a manager of an importing company – which has its price list dollarized – assured that activity continues at a good pace.

A sector of society with high purchasing power, savings capacity and that earns in pesos is seeing its income in dollars grow significantly. between the rise in their salaries and the fall in the exchange rate. “If six months ago you saved 10, now you save 15 and in dollars. “It is cheaper to travel abroad or buy cars priced in dollars.”explained the businessman.

What happens is different with companies that, depending on the case, are losing profitability. For example, with the reduction of the “blue” tax, those who import cars are ending a solid business they had been doing in tax matters. As the taxes They are paid in pesos and they sold the cars at the value of the “blue”, part of the tax pressure was liquefied by that exchange rate peculiarity. However, now, it is different because they need more dollars to pay the same taxes.

In generalist brands with factories located in the country (they represent 97% of the market) what is happening is the increase in tension with their network of dealerships.

The terminals continue to send price lists with adjustments every month. In November, the average increases is 3%, with peaks of up to 5% in some cases. Not all companies have updated prices yet.

But due to market conditions – more competitive and with good, but not overwhelming, demand – Agencies have to give discounts of more than 10% to be able to sell and achieve the commercial objectives set by the factories. It must be taken into account that the gross margin is around 15%.

So, while they must buy 0km from factories with increases, they then have to sell those vehicles at discounts. That is, it is the dealerships that function as an adjustment variable between what manufacturers ask for and what consumers pay.

This means that when they go out to replace products, the income generated is not enough to buy the same number of cars sold. Translated so that it is understood: they become decapitalized.

Meanwhile, The terminals continue to bill all savings plan subscribers with increases, This explains the reason for continuing to adjust the 0km, despite the fact that the market does not validate the prices in conventional sales.

It is true that they come from a 2023 with record profitability due to the import stocks, but they had to put part of that profit in the first months of the year with the market collapsed and non-existent margins.

The owner of several dealerships of different brands drew up this situation chart on the evolution of profitability for the year. “The first four months we lost money. May and June we came out done. Between July and September, we had good profitability. In October it already started to fall and for the rest of the year it will continue to fall,” he explained to Scope.

The reason for this loss of margins has to do with the scenario of a “weak” dollar, the increase in imported supply and the need to deepen discounts.

This is the information that consumers who are considering purchasing a 0km must have. The need for dealerships will allow the buyer to obtain a better quote when negotiating the price.