Ford has said that it expects its exports from Brazil to fall by as much as 15% this year, down from 139,000 units in 2005, according to Bloomberg, but unlike GM and Ford, it has is not planning to reduce capacity.
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The move is in response to the appreciating currency. Bloomberg notes that the Brazilian real has risen 57% against the US dollar since 2003.
According to AutoData, capacity constraints are holding Ford back in Brazil. In Camaçari, where production is at its limit, the company is already working on three shifts, six days per week. The unit accounts for two-thirds of Ford’s production. Indeed Ford is moving production of the highly successful EcoSport SUV from Brazil to Mexico to make for new models in Brazil. Brazil produced 98,000 EcoSports in Brazil in 2005, over 50,000 of which were exported.
The EcoSport is based on the Fiesta and Camaçari will instead produce a pick-up and an MPV based on the Fiesta platform. Ford is currently market leader in the light commercial vehicle market sector in Brazil.
Ford is also preparing its other plant at São Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paolo, for a new vehicle from 2008, and is considering increasing production at its Pacheco unit, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Ford’s vehicle sales in Brazil fell 3.4% in the first four months of the year, compared with an 8.9% increase for the overall industry in Brazil, according to data from the Brazilian automakers association.
