Automakers try to make electric car in the country

Automakers must deliver tomorrow to Development Minister Fernando Pimentel, a proposal to make feasible the production of electric and hybrid cars in Brazil. Before the stage of production, however, they want an exemption from the tax on industrialized products (IPI) for imported models. The justification will be to establish the technology on the market.
The plan provides for a quota of 500 vehicles that would come in the country this year with IPI zero (today the rate is 13% to 25%), that number would increase annually until you reach 2.4 thousand units in 2017. These quotas would be those established by the additional program Innovate-Auto, which frees a portion of high imports of 30 percentage points of the IPC in force since the end of 2011.
The exemption of import tax (II) is required only for spare parts. Cars from outside the Mercosur and Mexico pay 35% II.
Measures to encourage production, which should occur just from 2017, yet are not specified in the study, which will be taken to the Government by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Automotive vehicle manufacturers (Anfavea).
According to sources of the automotive industry, the understanding with respect to a single proposal to make green cars in Brazil was slow to come out because of the lack of interest from automakers that still have no products in this category.
At the beginning of the year, Toyota, alone, delivered to the Government a proposal in which established five years to start the local production of hybrids with flex engine (electric and ethanol). I would, however, exempt of IPI and II. Since January, the brand sells in the country the hybrid Prius, the $ 120,000. Imported from Japan, 170 units have been sold so far.
Are also for sale Ford Fusion hybrids, Lexus CT200h, Porsche Cayenne, Mercedes-Benz S400 and the electric Nissan Leaf.
Projects. The consensus reached among the affiliates of the Anfavea occurs at a time when two brands have announced intention to produce in Brazil alternative fuel-powered vehicles.
Nissan signed on the day 17 memorandum of understanding for feasibility study of production of electric cars in Rio de Janeiro, where the Japanese group will inaugurate a factory in 2014.
The President of the Renault/Nissan Alliance, the franco-Brazilian Carlos Ghosn, was personally with the Governor of Rio, Sérgio Cabral, to sign the Protocol. The Executive pointed out that, without government incentives, the electric car is not feasible.
Ten days later, the Arab Group Amsia Motors announced plans to invest $ 450 million in a plant in Sergipe to electricity-powered and hybrid vehicles.
Memorandum of understanding was also signed by the Governor-in-Office, Jackson Barreto and the Prince of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Rahman bin Faisal al Saud, the main shareholder of Amsia, which operates in partnership with Chinese companies.
In May 2010, the Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, arrived in Brasilia to meet a group of businessmen and officials to launch a programme to encourage the production of electric cars, but the event was canceled five minutes before the scheduled start. At the time, it was said that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked for more time to learn more about the proposal. Since then, the topic has been discussed, but no specific programme was launched.
The program Innovate-Auto, which entered into force this year until 2017, stipulates that the new cars will have to send 12% less pollutants than current models. Those who do not meet the standard will lose the exemption of 30 extra points of the IPI.
How the account will be made on the basis of average emissions of all models of a manufacturer, electric cars and hybrids will have an important weight in the calculation. The Government is studying giving greater weight to these models. The electric car does not emit pollutants and the hybrid that combines electric and combustion-engine also has zero-emission when electricity works.