Car sales grow in December

Automakers ' expectations of a strong December to spawn stocks and improve the negative results of this year are, at least so far, being confirmed. Preliminary data show that sales of vehicles-between cars, SUVs, light trucks and buses-inches this month, 13.5% in comparison with November and 5.9% compared to the strong performances of December last year whose end result was the best from 2013.
Collaborates to this performance the longest commercially calendar this month, with two working days more than sale than November and one more than the December last year. But the daily average of plates issued by 15.7 thousand cars, also indicates a heated market and, if maintained, will be the best mark this year, handily surpassing the little more than 14 thousand units per day recorded in April and November.
The movement has as its backdrop the expected withdrawal of rebates in the tax on industrialized products (IPI) of automobiles at the turn of the year, which leads to consumer race to dealerships before the price increase.
The Anfavea, which represents automakers in Brazil, has announced that the Government will collect the IPI filled in January. But the re-composition of the tax is still in discussion in Brasilia. The chances of maintenance of existing discounts were reduced on the promise of greater fiscal strictness of the new economic team. The industry, however, still "fight" for the increase of the tax rates is, at least, done gradually. If this is not possible, the impact on the price of the popular car is estimated by Anfavea at 4.5%.
For Olivier Murguet, President of Renault in Brazil, the impact produced by the increase of IPI in the market can be equivalent to a loss of 4% to 5% of sales. He says that the effects will be felt in February, once in January the market will still have available stocks of cars with IPI reduced. Even so, the Executive says understand the side of the Government. "It [the high IPI] is consistent with the policies to balance the public accounts".
With the market warming in December, declining vehicle sales year to date dropped to 7.6 percent, after closing November 8.4%. Is a percentage still far from negative 5.4% prescribed by the Anfavea. On the other hand, also departs from most pessimistic predictions which pointed to fall close to 10% in 2014, as well as represents a moderation of the spill that reached the low of 9.7% reaching accumulated until August.
The trend is that the pace of plates issued stay strong in the next few days, with the race of brands to improve the results of the year. There are, for example, a big effort from Volkswagen to regain the lead of the goal, lost to the Palio last month. Advertising campaigns increasingly exploit the motto of "last month of IPI reduced".
While playing chips on sales acceleration, most automakers began giving this week's year-end layoffs longer. With high sales and production shutdowns, the goal is to normalize that stocks outweighed 414 thousand vehicles at the end of October.