RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The sales of new vehicles in Brazil had a high of 2.98% in 2021, showing the results released by the National Federation of Automotive Vehicles Distribution (Fenabrave) on Thursday (6).
2,119,554 new units were sold in the year, including cars, light commercials, trucks, and buses. g1 does not include motorcycles and road equipment.
Even though the year ended with a positive balance, we must remember that the comparison base is relatively low. In 2020, the sector registered a fall of 26.16%, the first annual drop since 2016.
Moreover, the growth in 2021 came below what was projected by Fenabrave in the release of the 2020 data. The entity predicted a 16% increase last year.
For 2022, the entity estimates a 4.6% growth for the group.
WORSENING EXPECTATIONS
At the turn of the year, when Fenabrave made its estimates, the automotive plants were leading the recovery of the Brazilian industry. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), there were nine consecutive highs until February.
The result had been strong even with Ford’s production shutdown in the country, a landmark fact for the sector announced as early as January.
But the industrial sector has suffered since the beginning of the pandemic with an equation that brings together production stoppages, lack of inputs, and high raw material costs. The automotive chain, in particular, felt the shortage of semiconductors and chips, also disputed by electronics manufacturers.
Added to the problem of shortage of raw materials is the escalating inflation and reduction in labor income in the last year, which directly impact the population’s purchasing power. With less money in their pockets, there is a reduction in demand for durable goods such as cars.
In 2021, this turbulent scenario competed for space with Covid-19’s contagion of automakers’ workers. In the middle of the year, several plants halted work to prevent the disease’s spread and hold production in times of lower demand.
However, last year’s results show that the uncertainty of the first impact of the pandemic, still in 2020, was more relevant as a brake on the industry.
TRUCKS
The slight increase in registrations in 2021 was driven by the vigorous growth of trucks (42.8%) and light commercials (24.4%). The weight of both, however, is very low compared to cars.
In absolute numbers, 127,357 trucks and 416,474 light commercials were sold. They represent 6% and 19.6% of the market, respectively.
On the other hand, Cars had a drop of 3.56% in the year, with 1,557,957 total registrations. This is 73.5% of the volume.