Car industry foresees 8.9% increase in production in 2008
DCI - 12/09/2007
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Anfavea) foresees an increase of 8.9% in next year's production, the equivalent to 3.240 million units, a number which is already close to the installed capacity. That is shown by a survey of the association. The car industry also expects to reach an annual production of 5 million vehicles by 2013. According to Anfavea's president Jackson Schneider, "there is no risk of "bottlenecks" and the country is ready to meet the internal demand". Schneider remarked that in the period from 1995 to 2004 the Brazilian car industry invested US$ 35 billion, which allowed the country to go from 2 million units to 3.5 million. Based on the announcements made by the companies, Anfavea estimates that something close to R$ 10 billion will be invested in the next three years. Among the investments announced by the companies, General Motors informed the investment of US$ 500 million in Brazil and Argentina last July. A total of US$ 100 million will be used in the construction of a new building of the technological center of the company in São Caetano do Sul, in the São Paulo ABC Region. The rest will be divided in half among the units, in Brazil and Argentina, aiming at the development of a new family of cars.