Auto sales record 2023 high: Monthly car sales hit their highest level of 2023 inNovember, according to figures released yesterday by the Automotive Marketing Information Council (AMIC). Distributors sold over 9.9k vehicles in November, up 10% from October and the highest monthly figure since September 2022, according to our internal tracker.

The details: The jump in sales was driven by passenger car sales, which rose 14% m-o-m to7,916. Truck sales also rose over 9% m-o-m to 1,089. Bus sales fell in November 8.2% from the month prior to 929.

Sales are also up from where they were a year ago, recording a 24% y-o-y increase, thanksto the uptick in passenger car sales. Passenger car sales were up 52% y-o-y, while bus (32%) and truck (22%) sales were both down y-o-y.

2023 has been an underwhelming year for the auto market: Distributors sold a little under 80k units in the first 11 months of 2023, almost half of the 176.9k units during the same period in 2022.

Zooming out: This jump in sales comes following an extended period of the industry beingweighed down by the FX crunch, which made it difficult to secure the necessary imports. It remains unclear whether this upward trajectory will carry through into December’s numbers and the new year, seeing as our FX situation has remained somewhat unchanged between the two months.

The caveat: AMIC figures reflect data contributed by member distributors, who include most(but not all) industry participants.

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