Brazil has a strategic position for Land Rover in MERCOSUR

Of all ads from luxury automakers factories made over the past two years in the country, the Jaguar Land Rover was definitely the most unexpected. That's because the Group has manufacturing units only in the United Kingdom and, recently, is building another plant in China.
"The Brazil is strategic for the sustainable growth of Jaguar Land Rover in the whole world. In addition, particularly the luxury market has a lot of potential to grow here, "he said in an interview with DCI the automaker's public relations manager for Latin America, Fernando de Moraes. The brand factory, which will be built in Itatiaia (RJ), will consume an investment of R $ 750 million, of which r $ 500 million will be used in the first phase of the project.
"The estimated productive capacity of 24 thousand units per year and the first vehicles must leave the Assembly line in 2016," says Matthews. At first, the factory must only supply domestic demand. "We must not forget that Brazil is a starting point for sales in other Latin American markets, which the positions as strategic in the region," notes Moraes.
According to the company, the choice of Itatiaia is due to strategic location, offer of skilled labor and access to a strong supplier base. The Cavite houses several automakers, as MAN Latin America (arm of Volkswagen trucks), Nissan and PSA PeugeotCitroën, which attracts many companies of the automotive chain.
The country has emerged as a promising market for luxury cars. Even with the increase of 30 percentage points in the tax on industrialized products (IPI) for imported, the Jaguar Land Rover sold 10.95 million units last year, representing a growth of 30% in 2012.
"The Brazil grew above the global average in 2013, which reinforces the attention and dedication on the part of the array. And this will be a promising year for our company in the country. The results only show that strategies are on the right track, "said recently the President of Jaguar Land Rover in Latin America, Flavio Padovan, to disclose the company's overall balance sheet.
The Land Rover acts more strongly in the sports utility market (so called SUVs, the acronym in English), whose sales have grown significantly in Brazil, including in the luxury segment, in which the company fits. "In the country, the growth solidifies our leadership in the category of luxury SUVs," said Padovan.
One of the only uncertainties that seems to bother the automaker, despite optimistic expectations, is the exchange rate issue. "The dollar exchange rate variation has direct influence on our business. This is a factor which demand full attention because it affects the volume and the sales strategy of our products ", says Moraes.
Anfavea the deadlock with Argentina knocked automotive exports in January, according to data released on Thursday by the National Association of Automotive vehicle manufacturers (Anfavea).
According to the entity, the foreign market sales last month fell 28.9% compared to the previous year. In values, including also the segment of agricultural machinery, exports had fallen 13.3 percent on the same basis, to $ 890 million "the main reason for the decline in exports in January were the Argentine restrictions", stated in the press conference the President of Anfavea, Luiz Moan. The Executive stressed, however, that steps are already being taken by the Brazilian Government and by the entity.
"We are talking with the automakers ' Association of the neighbouring country (Adefa) to find solutions and minimize the most of this situation," he says.
Moan also highlighted that the Anfavea is in talks with the Brazilian Government to speed up the negotiation process with the Argentines. "The Brazil represents more than 90% of Argentine exports, so we are convinced that everything will be solved quickly," he says.
Production and sales Still on Thursday, the Anfavea announced revision of the growth projection of production of vehicles for the year, from 0.7% to 1.4%, due to data corrections one of the associates. The high expectation of sales for the period, however, was maintained at 1.1%, to 3.81 million units. Since the licenses had historical record for the month of January, a total of 312.6 million units. The volume represents an increase of 0.4% compared to the previous year.
However, earlier this week, Ford's Vice President for Brazil and South America, Rogelio Golfarb, said that the result of January is punctual. "We have to be cautious and admit that this is not a trend," said during the launch of the prototype Ka sedan. According to the Executive, the effect results from the reduction of stocks with IPI old.