Following consistent growth in the last few months, Brazil’s automotive industry completed the first half of the year still performing strongly.

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According to the National Automakers Association (Anfavea) the country made 1,202,084 vehicles in the first half of 2005, an increase of 15.7% compared with the 1,038,830 units built in 2004.


Domestic sales rose 10.7% year on year. In the first half, automakers sold 800,128 locally-made and imported vehicles, up from 723,083 in 2004. This year, imported vehicles accounted for 4.8% of total sales, up from 3.8% last year.


Automakers have been protesting over the government’s decision not to intervene against the Brazilian real’s growing strength against the US dollar, yet vehicle exports remained healthy in the first half.


This year, local automakers shipped 394,857 vehicles abroad, up 41.7% on H1 ‘04. That brought in revenue of $US4.07 billion compared with $US2.86 billion a year ago.

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“The export results are surprising, but we believe that this is a result of growth in our principal foreign markets of Mexico and Argentina”, said Anfavea president Rogélio Golfarb.


Despite the strong half year results, Anfavea has not altered the forecast it made at the beginning of the year of a 10% boost in production and home market sales and export growth of about 20%.


This may be a strategy to help the automakers in negotiations with suppliers and with the government over cost reduction measures.


With 189,562 units sold in the first half of the year, Fiat led the car and light commercial segments. Volkswagen led in trucks, with 12,695 units. Mercedes sold 4,056 bus chassis to top that segment.


Though it doesn’t make trucks or bus chassis in Brazil, Fiat was still the leading vehicle producer overall in the first half. Volkswagen, which contests all segments, was second, having sold 179,286 units.


Rogério Louro