While most manufacturers maintain limited inventories, one month or month and a half, and semi-empty sales floors, Jac’s 42 dealerships in the country continue to receive cars.
Around 200 containers arrive each month at the ports of Lázaro Cárdenas, in Michoacán, and Manzanillo, in Colima, from China. After facing a bottleneck in the second quarter, due to the blockage that the Suez Canal experienced when a ship ran aground and imbalances in international logistics, the flow of containers that Jac sends to Mexico has been restored.
“We have not stopped receiving inventory. In fact, in the last month we had more cars than ever. This has allowed us to achieve several historical sales records this year,” said Isidoro Massri, director of Jac in Mexico.
In March, the brand sold 618 units, the highest number for a month of March in the four years that the brand has been in the country. In June, it again broke a monthly record with 704 units sold, the best figure reached by the brand in a month of June.
The Chinese-born automaker expects to capitalize on its inventories in the coming months. “The market right now is desperate to reactivate and, unlike what happened months ago, where there was excess inventory everywhere, now it is more difficult to get units,” said Massri. “Before it was taken for granted that there were models available, but now the seller tells you: I have immediate delivery, I have vehicles, come see them,” he adds.
Jac, who sold 4,271 units last year, now expects to double that number. This would be a big step up from 2019, when it sold 4,709 units. The brand accumulates a 73% recovery so far this year, compared to 2020, the highest within the volume segment, according to Inegi data.
The strategy in Mexico
The availability of inventories has played in Jac’s favor in the Mexican market, allowing him to gain ground in the different segments in which he participates with equipped models at competitive prices.
It recently rolled out an update to its largest SUV, the Sei 7 Pro, with a three-row, six-passenger seating configuration. While the prices of the vehicles that compete in this segment exceed 700,000 pesos, the two versions that Jac will offer in the country are around 500,000 pesos.
“This is a good example of our (marketing) strategy because we seek to get into segments that we see underserved, either because the options that exist have high prices or because those that are accessible do not offer much level of equipment,” says Massri.
The brand started operations in Mexico with two models. Since then it has been adding new units, forming a portfolio of 19 models, including gasoline, electric and commercial vehicles. The highest sales volume is concentrated in three of them: the T8 pickup, the Sei 2 crossover and the J7 sedan.