Automaker seeks new markets within

More than consolidate its presence in major urban centres, the automakers were to the interior to sustain successive records in sales of cars of the past nine years. Today, more than one third of the consumption of automobiles are in cities with less than 200 thousand inhabitants, which has led the industry to explore new markets in the country.
At Renault, the expansion of the network of dealers will mark the 100 new cities even 2017, half of them in the Northeast and Midwest in municipalities such as Brazil (PB), Luís Eduardo Magalhães (BA) and Luziânia (Goiás). The same direction was taken by Honda, which, after settling in the capitals, will depart for the smaller towns in its new phase of territorial expansion.
Older automakers in Brazil-Fiat, Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford took the path of interior there are longer, but not left of exploring new markets around the country. The leader of Fiat sales, for example, came last year alone the cities like Brumado, Bahia, Almenara, Minas Gerais, Paragominas, PA, Crateus (EC) and Wythenshawe (SP).
The reasons for the strategy are many. In a macroeconomic analysis, they range from the growth of agribusiness and the investments in infrastructure in these regions up to the improvement in household income, which, combined with the expansion of credit, allowed the inclusion of a huge swath of people to the consumer market.
This situation is reflected in above-average growth of the automotive market outside of the traditional centres of consumption. The increasingly chaotic traffic of the largest cities in Brazil are the clearest sign that sales have not stopped growing in the Southeast. However, the Midwest and northeast regions were, in this order, the most evolved into plates issued last year.
Across the country, Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte were the States that most grew up in 2012, marking the evolution of two digits in the sales pace: 16.8% and 15.8%, respectively.
A survey done by the Scope-consultancy that helps automakers to discover fast-growing markets-shows that 34.2% of sales of cars are concentrated in counties with more than 200 thousand inhabitants. Twelve years ago, when the Brazilian market was just one-third of current size, this share was 28.2%. In the opposite direction, sales in cities with more than 1 million inhabitants fell from 45.6% to 37.3% of the total in that period.
When trying to explain the numbers, mark Callegari, Director of scope, says that, in addition to a matter of demand, fierce competition in the capitals forced the displacement of the marks to the interior of the country. At the same time, says Cagle, automakers had to find new markets to give vent to a production of popular cars that lost space in the more developed centres. "The brands began, then, to seek opportunities where before they had no idea to sell," he says.
Fiat and Volkswagen, the two brands sold in the country, have more than 19% of its licensed cars in small towns-up to 50 thousand inhabitants. In the year 2000, sales in those counties totaled only 10.7% of the total of 15.4% of Volkswagen and Fiat. Already at General Motors, came out of 9.9% to 16.9%. Among the big four, only in Ford small towns lost representation: the portion of them fell from 26.4% to 15% on the total sales of the brand in twelve years, shows the study of scope.
Despite this, little explored markets before walking to a scenario of increased competition as more brands begin to follow the trail already covered by veterans. Fifth automaker in sales in the country in 2012, Renault settled in the past two years in 44 new cities, such as Sinop (MT), Três Lagoas (MS), Catalan (GO), Caruaru (Pernambuco) and barriers (BA).
Today, 82% of copper Renault Brazilian territory, but wants to extend this coverage to 93% and a total of 400 stores by 2017. The plan passes, mainly by capillarity of resales in the Northeast and Midwest. "I venture to say that the market in the Northeast will continue to grow more than twice the national average," says Gustav Schmidt, Vice President of Renault.
For the Executive, in addition to the investments in infrastructure and income-transfer programmes which give greater dynamism to the economy of the region, the growth potential is justified by the lower rate of motorization in the Northeast: a vehicle every eleven people, while in the East the ratio is a vehicle for less than four people.
In the search for new markets, automakers say such variables as population density, income and consumption potential to set goals and investments suitable to each region. A small shop, for example, need to sell at least between ten and twelve cars per month, says Schmidt. "Of course I will not put these dealers the same requirements that we do for the concessionaires of the capital", says the Executive.
For the Bahia Ricardo Oliveira, the arrival of a resale of Renault to Vitória da Conquista (BA) helped solve a personal dilemma. Two years ago, he worked as a manager of a city carrier, but did not wish to meet an emergency request to move to Campinas (SP) because his daughter had been born. "It was a time when I couldn't get out," he recalls.
The solution was to change the business, accepting a job at Rodaleve, the Renault dealership in Vitoria da Conquista, Oliveira's hometown. Today, he celebrates the yaw on career and speaks with pride of the utility that manages results. "We sell more than 70 cars per month. I think I made the right choice. "