Luxury car bad quarter dribbles and hits record sales

The demand for vehicles in Brazil is falling and the actual lost value against the dollar over the past 12 months, but imports of premium cars to Pluto. In the first quarter, the German trio that heads this market in the world-BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz-stuck new record sales in the country, at a time when the three automakers are preparing the ground for the start of production in the national territory.
The incentives granted by the new automotive system new investments-giving these cars-competitiveness, further expanding the product line and the growing network of resellers form the combination that is allowing these marks escape from accommodation that reaches most of the market.
Audi's sales more than double this year. Were 2.8 thousand cars just got their plates in the first three months, which means 42% of the entire volume licensed in 2013 (6.7 thousand units) and also more than the brand sold a decade ago, when Audi A3 model produced in shared with Volkswagen factory in Parana. "This shows that even in a difficult market, it's still possible to grow," says the President of Audi in Brazil, Jörg Hofmann, when comparing the figures of the brand with the fall of almost 2% recorded by the entire Brazilian industry during the first quarter.
Audi's goal is to sell more than 10 million cars this year, which would mean a significant growth of 50%. Hofmann assigns the latest results to factors such as more aggressive investments in advertising, with the return of Audi's ads on network TV, and the expansion of the network of dealers. In the last 12 months, Audi opened six resales, in the midst of a plan to double the size of its distribution network in three years, leaving 30 to 60 stores.
Mercedes-Benz, which already has 34 car dealers across the country, wants to open at least seven more until December. The brand's sales grow about 30 percent this year, adding more than 2.4 million cars in the first quarter. Already the plates issued from BMW were 3.6 thousand units in the same period, 87.9% above the volume of a year earlier. These advances were only possible with the easing in October 2012, the rules of the new automotive system, relieving the tax burden for the imported brands, but with plans to invest in Brazil.
In common, both Audi and BMW and Mercedes are building factories in the country. Therefore, during the works, they can import large numbers of automobiles without paying the surcharge of 30 percentage points in the tax on industrialized products (IPI), created three years ago by the Government to protect automakers already installed in Brazil.
The import quota is equivalent to one-fourth of future production capacity. Mercedes, for example, will have a line in the São Paulo State able to assemble 20 thousand cars per year. So, you can download 5 thousand automobiles per year without IPI. The number comes close to 10 thousand vehicles when it includes the quota that the automaker already was entitled as a manufacturer of trucks.
Additional charge free of tax, the marks were able to suspend price adjustments applied before the quotas, which increased access to their cars. "We have close to the prices of similar national models," says Raju Days, Senior Manager of sales at Mercedes automobile Division.
According to him, the premium car market, with prices above $ 100,000, will go from 60 thousand units this year. Expectation in the industry that this consumption exceeds 100 thousand cars in the next five years. In this expectation, the three Germans, more the British Jaguar Land Rover, investing nearly $ 2.4 billion in factories that will add 102 thousand cars per year in installed capacity.
While the luxury market follows in alta, the most popular brands are the collapse in car consumption. The market share of the big four of the front of the market, Fiat, General Motors (GM), Volkswagen and Ford-falls this year for 66.9%, 2013 after closing at 67.5%. In absolute values, the VW is, so far, the automaker that more loses sales. Are 21.2 million vehicles less than in 2013. At the other end of the table, Renault, Hyundai, Toyota and Honda in high register plates issued.