SANTIAGO, - Automobile sales in Chile fell 13.7 percent in October from a year earlier, according to data released on Monday, a clear sign the global financial crisis has slammed the brakes on domestic consumer spending.

The Chilean Automobile Association, ANAC, said automobile, SUV and light truck sales totaled 18,085 units in October.

That compares to 1.3 percent sales growth in September year-on-year and 8.2 percent growth in August.

"As we warned previously and in line with the global economic situation, sales growth started to slow in the second
half of the year," ANAC said in a statement. Despite the slowdown, sales growth in the first 10 months of the year was 15.2 percent and 2008 still looks like it will be a banner year for automobile dealers.

"We still think we'll hit our projection of around 250,000 units by year-end, which would be a new historic high," the association said. In all of 2007, 227,000 vehicles were sold in Chile. Chile, the world's leading producer of copper, has a population of about 16 million and is Latin America's sixth largest economy. But it leads the region in terms of per capita gross domestic product at $9,884 in 2007.

The association forecast this month that auto sales would fall in 2009 under the weight of tighter credit conditions and a stronger dollar amid widening global financial turmoil.