n the first quarter of 2021, truck sales in the Colombian market maintained its growth trajectory, which has been happening for virtually the whole period since the end of 2020, with 8,026 units registered.

The market for trucks and buses in Brazil in the first quarter of 2022 generally saw growth, although the breakdown by weight segment shows that results were mixed, as truck registrations rose 3% to 26,852 units while bus and coach registrations dropped 0.3% to 3,322 units.

The top eight* South American markets for commercial vehicles (3.5t gvw and above) finished in 2021 with a total of 254,200 units registered, an increase of 42.2% over 178,800 vehicles registered in 2020.

Mercedes-Benz came out on top in registrations of bus and coach chassis locally manufactured in and imported to Brazil in the first quarter of 2022, with a 44.5% increase to 1,621 units.

Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus Co Ltda ( (VWCO - Volkswagen Truck and Bus) of Resende, Brazil (a member of the Traton Group) in January said it plans to enter the Philippine commercial vehicle market this year through the local MAN truck distributor (also a subsidiary of Traton), MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corporation (MACC) of Quezon City (Manilla), the Philippines. 

Swedish pump specialist, Concentric AB, based in Linköping, has announced the closure of its manufacturing plant in Chivilcoy, Argentina. The firm stated that the facility is no longer viable due to the macro-economic situation in the country.

Loveland, Colorado-based electrification specialist Lightning eMotors Inc has announced it is now offering the Lightning eChassis for Class 4 and 5 commercial vehicles.

2021 marked the ninth year where the Volvo FH 540 heavy truck was the best-selling truck across all categories in the Brazilian market. Between January and December, there were 8,935 units registered

Despite many manufacturing challenges during 2021 including component supply chain and worker shortages due to COVID leading to full production line stoppages, the Brazilian truck market grew almost 43%, according to data collated and supplied by Fenabrave

The fall in registrations in Brazil’s bus and coach market fell modestly in 2021 by 2.5% to register 17,766 units compared with 18,219 units in 2020, according to data collated and supplied by Fenabrave

Sílvio Munhoz, Sales Solutions director of Scania do Brasil sets the scene for 2022

An Interview with Roberto Leoncini, Vice President of Sales and Marketing Trucks and Buses at Mercedes-Benz do Brasil brings us up to date on business in 2021 and expectation for 2022