RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil currently has four vehicle production plants for sale, after closures were announced in December and January. One of these is the Mercedes-Benz plant, which produced luxury cars in Iracemápolis (SP), as well as three Ford plants in Bahia, Ceará and São Paulo.
The Mercedes plant is the newest of these. Opened in 2016, it is compact and fully equipped, with a modern test track beside it. The group reports that it is looking for alternatives and that guaranteeing a future for the plant is paramount. Selling is an alternative.
The Ford complex in Camaçari, Bahia, houses several auto parts suppliers linked to the assembly line. The group intends to sell the facilities to a company that will continue to produce vehicles. This was also the goal for the ABC Paulista plant, closed in 2019. However, unable to find a buyer in the automotive sector, the area was sold to a construction company and a group of investors. It is currently being prepared to become one of the country’s largest logistics hubs.
The Bahia government has approached South Korean, Indian and Japanese ambassadors for help in finding interested parties in these countries.
The engine parts plant in Taubaté is also intended for an automaker, but the chances are even slimmer than in Bahia. The local city hall reports that it is in negotiations with an interested party, together with the federal government. The state government is said to be in talks with two groups, but names and activity sectors have not been disclosed.
Pride
Horizonte (CE) mayor Manoel Gomes de Farias Neto, known as Nezinho, is also rooting for a buyer that will continue the Troller production, which, according to him, “is a source of pride for the city, generates good jobs, income, and tax revenue.” The plant accounts for 4% of the city’s tax revenue.
In this case, Ford intends to sell the whole business, meaning that the buyer will have rights to produce the T4 off-road brand. Nezinho is serving his fourth term and says that he donated a small plot of land to begin the Troller operation during his first term. Horizonte, with 72,000 inhabitants, has 28 industries, the largest of which is Vulcabrás, which generates some 10,000 jobs, he says. “We are striving for the Troller to remain active because it is a Ceará and Horizonte brand, it is part of our land,” says 61-year-old Nezinho.
Sector analysts believe the chances of the plants being purchased by automotive groups are slim, given the high level of idle capacity in the Brazilian and global automotive industry. The country has the capacity to produce between 4.5 million and 4.7 million vehicles, excluding Ford’s figures. The highest volume recorded to date was 3.7 million in 2013; the projection for this year is only 2.5 million.
Source: Noticias ao Minuto