Venezuela's car sales fell 40.7 pct in 2002 - chamber

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.21.03, 10:23 AM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Car sales in strike-hit Venezuela fell 40.7 percent to 128,623 units in 2002 compared with a year earlier, the Venezuelan Automobile Chamber (CAVENEZ) said on Tuesday.

Nationwide car sales in December, when foes of leftist President Hugo Chavez began a strike to force him to resign, plummeted 91.7 percent to 1,627 units compared with a year earlier when 19,602 units were sold, the chamber reported.

Venezuela has been struggling with a deepening recession and growing political tensions since a brief coup against Chavez last April. The chamber had earlier forecast sales would fall about 35 percent for the year due to the South American nation's sharp economic downturn.

The companies affiliated with CAVENEZ are DaimlerChrysler AG's

(nyse: DCX - news - people)<DCXGn.DE> DaimlerChrysler de Venezuela, Fiat SpA's

<FIA.MI> Fiat Automoviles, Fiat affiliate IVECO Venezuela, Ford Motor Co. (nyse: DCX - news - people), General Motors Corp.'s (nyse: DCX - news - people) General Motors de Venezuela, AB Volvo <VOLVb.ST> affiliate Mack de Venezuela, Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s <7211.T> MMC Automotriz and Toyota Motor Corp.'s <7203.T> Toyota de Venezuela.

The figures represent the total vehicle sales in Venezuela, and also include car models made by non-members of CAVENEZ, such as Mazda Motor Corp. <7261.T> and Volkswagen AG <VOWG.DE>.