Luxury model takes up lost ground

The devaluation of the real has not prevented the advancement of luxury car imports this year. Brands such as Audi, BMW and Land Rover recovered lost sales in 2012 with government restrictions and imported vehicles are already operating above the volumes of two years ago, when the demand for imported vehicles in Brazil beat record.
Since leaving to produce the model A3 in Paraná, in 2006, this being the best year of Audi in Brazil. In total, the German automaker has 2.8 thousand cars in the first six months of the year, a volume that surpasses the 1.9 thousand units from the same period of 2012 as the 2.1 million vehicles in the first half of 2011.
The Land Rover had in the first half of this year, its best performance in the Brazilian market, with 5.3 thousand cars got their plates, 2 thousand units or more compared to the volume registered in the same period two years earlier. The result of BMW this year, with just over 6 thousand cars sold until June, is also a record in the country.
Mercedes-Benz has not yet returned to the levels of 2011, but sales of its cars, imported from Germany and the United States, doubled in the first half, compared to 2012, reaching 4.4 million cars and SUVs.
The reversal of the negative trend-faced last year by almost all imported brands before the surcharge of 30 percentage points in the tax on industrialized products (IPI)-is due to import quotas granted by the new automotive system, published in early October. They allowed the import of cars without the additional tax, giving imported vehicles more competitive.
The quota established by the Government, up 4.8 thousand vehicles per year free of extra IPI, attended as well the needs of brands who exploit niche markets as the premium segment, whose participation on sales of cars in the country does not reach 2%. On the other hand, undermined the larger scale, brands that matter large volumes outside the quota and still compete with similar cars manufactured in Brazil, be exempt from the tax increase. This helps explain why luxury automakers are able to paddle against falling almost everywhere, especially, Asian brands, exploiting popular segments.
Kia Motors, for example, that came to play for almost 80 thousand cars in Brazil in 2011, today sells less than half the level of two years ago. The Korean brand decided not to enable the new automotive system, which would give it the right to import quota, but, on the other hand, would require minimum investments in it a National Fund for scientific and technological development. So, compared to the same period last year, sales of Kia fell 31.1% in the first half, adding 15.2 thousand cars. On the same basis of comparison, the volume of Chinese carmaker Hafei, which not long ago was a hit with Towner, utilities fell 60%, to 1.3 million units.
The negative performance of its affiliates most popular led to Abeiva, entity that represents brands of cars without local production, the downgrade again yesterday their expectation for sales this year. The goal-which was initially 150 thousand cars and that had already fallen to 130 thousand units in June-now stands at 125 thousand vehicles, which would mean a fall of 3.2% over the already low result of 2012. Until June, the imported sales recorded by Abeiva, excluding imports made by automakers, have accumulated fall of 23.2%, adding up to 54.5 thousand cars, or 3.2% of the total light commercial cars and sold in Brazil.
Francis Padovan, who chairs the Abeiva and commands the Jaguar Land Rover in Latin America, says that, in addition to the imbalance caused by quotas, the disparity between the performances of luxury cars and popular is linked to the elasticity of demand, which is smaller in the case of the public who consumes products of high added value. That is, the higher the purchasing power of the buyer, the lower the impact of price increases, is the appreciation of the dollar, either by raising taxes. "Those who have lower purchasing power suffers more in this situation," he says.
Even with dimensions that allow the import of large volume of cars-due to local production projects-sales of JAC Motors and Chinese Chery also are down this year. In the first half, the plates issued from JAC fell 12.9%, to 8.9 thousand cars, while the volumes of Chery gave 72.5%, adding 2.5 thousand units.
Animated with the Brazilian consumption growth of more sophisticated cars, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz and Audi are studying investing in factories in Brazil, following a path already taken by BMW. Although they have allowed a recovery of sales this year, import quotas prevent the luxury vehicle market to reach all their potential, says Dimitris Psillakis, Director of sales and marketing for Mercedes-Benz. "The market this year is being governed by quotas, and not by demand", he says.