General Motors expects sales of new cars and light trucks in Brazil to rise to 2.4m in 2017 from an estimated 2.1m this year, the GM Brazil head said at an industry event in São Paulo.
"We believe the market will accelerate in the second half of next year," Reuters quoted Carlos Zalenga as saying.
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Last week, Barry Engle, head of São Paulo-based GM South America, reaffirmed temporary fiscal incentives had proved fruitless in improving the Brazilian motor industry's competitiveness in recent years.
He told a seminar the strategy of mitigating market downturns through IPI excise tax cuts for medium to lengthy periods did not work at all. What actually happened was a tide of massive, forward buying, one of the causes of the 45% market slump since (20% this year alone).
Engle was the seminar's most optimistic speaker as far as 2017 sector recovery was concerned. Most executives and consultancy firms suggested 1% to 8% growth compared with extremely poor forecasts for 2016 (circa 2.1m cars, light and heavy commercials).
Engle sees sales soaring between 10% and 15% due to GDP surge, lower inflation and interest rates, easier credit, return of consumer confidence, and the ageing fleet's relatively high maintenance costs.
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