01/08/2008 12h00

Anfavea re-establishes productive capacity

Valor Econômico – 01/08/2008

Nothing worries the car industry today more than knowing whether or not the Brazilian car makers are able to keep up with the increase of the demand. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Anfavea) prepares a map that, until the end of March, will indicate the real productive capacity. The previous indication, carried out in 2005, showed that the assembly lines in Brazil were able to produce 3.5 million vehicles a year. Until then, the excessive idleness was what bothered the sector's executives the most. Today, on the contrary, if the daily average of vehicle production keeps the current pace, the capacity may be insufficient. There are several programs of investment for the industrial expansion in progress. For that reason, the figure may change. "It is an important calculation to be made", points out Anfavea's president Jackson Schneider. The debate concerning the expansion of the market is much more important than any possibility of the increase of the Tax on Financial Operations (IOF) to breaking this trend - evaluate the representatives of the car industry. The expansion of credit and its positive effects on the activity of this sector last year are already a reason of celebration for Brazilians in the international setting. With the growth of sales of 27.8% in 2007, Brazil stepped up to the ninth place in the "ranking" of the largest markets of vehicles of the planet, a place previously occupied by Spain. As for the world production counting per country, which has not yet been released, it is likely that Brazil have not yet moved out of the seventh place. Nonetheless, the numbers, both of internal sales and total production, continue being the reasons for celebration. For 2008, Anfavea foresees another growth of 17.5% in domestic sales and 8.9% in production, which would result in 2.895 million and 3.240 million, respectively.