Vehicle production ends May up 10.7% over April

Vehicle production in May recorded growth of 10.7% over April. 205,900 units of light and heavy vehicles were manufactured in the last month, according to Anfavea (association of automakers). Year-to-date, there is a drop of 9.5% compared to 2021.

The result reflects a moment of relief in the supply of semiconductors and the increase in sales, explained by the purchases made by the rental companies and the end of the wait for a new reduction in the IPI (Imposto sobre Pordutos Industrializados), which did not include the passenger car segment. .

“We have difficulties, we have bottlenecks, but slowly, the situation is becoming really critical”, says Márcio de Lima Leite, president of Anfavea.

“Today it’s not just about semiconductors, which undoubtedly have a very big impact, but we have rubbers, cables, some items that are being the object of greater planning by the automakers”, says Leite.

Until May, according to Anfavea, there was a loss of production of 150 thousand vehicles due to the lack of components. There were 16 plant shutdowns in the first five months of the year, an average of 20 days per plant.

187.1 thousand units were sold in the last month, according to Fenabrave (association of distributors). The number represents an increase of 27% over April, but there is a fall of 17% in the accumulated. The account includes passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, buses and trucks.

After fluctuating within the range of 7,000 licenses, the average sales was 8,503 units/day. “Our biggest challenge today is to maintain the market with a demand that remains at least equal to our production capacity”, says the president of Anfavea. He points out that the biggest obstacle at the moment in the sales area is the increase in credit.

Exports rose 2.8% between April and May, and the year-to-date growth of 19.4%. In the first five months of 2022, 199,000 units were shipped abroad, mainly to South American countries.

Despite the increase in sales, inventories remained at the same level as in April. There are vehicles available to meet the 20 days of marketing.

The level of employment remains stable, with 101,800 workers registered at the automakers. The number, however, should decrease in the coming months, due to the closure of production at the plants of Caoa Chery in Jacareí (interior of São Paulo) and of Toyota in São Bernardo do Campo.

Production data were released on Monday (7). The Minister of the Environment, Joaquim Leite, opened the Anfavea press conference. He congratulated the industry on “profitable climate solutions”.

In his speech, he mentioned the solutions that are on the agenda in the national automotive sector, ranging from hybrid flex cars to hydrogen powered models.

These are the options offered by Toyota, which transferred 100% of its operations to the interior of São Paulo.

At the end of May, Joaquim Leite was at the Japanese automaker’s factory in Sorocaba, where he got to know the cars that have the brand’s global technologies. Only flex hybrid models are available in Brazil, in the Corolla line.

In a year of majority elections, the association of automakers has promoted meetings with different ministries of the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government. The tenure, which began with criticism of the industry, ends with a much closer relationship.

The former president of Anfavea, Luiz Carlos Moraes, was even invited to occupy a chair at the Ministry of Economy. The proposal was refused.

One of the themes that always comes back in these moments when Anfavea approaches the Executive Branch is the fleet renewal program, which has been on the agenda since the 1990s. The subject was mentioned again —with a focus on the truck segment—, but without definition. terms or dates.