Volvo announces investment of R$ 1.5 billion in the truck segment

The Volvo Latin America group announced this Wednesday (2) a new investment cycle in Brazil. BRL 1.5 billion will be invested between 2022 and 2025, focusing on research and product development.

The company, which has a factory in Curitiba, ended 2021 as a leader in the heavy truck segment. The highlight was the FH 540, which had 8,935 units sold and was the country’s best seller among all categories.

In total, the Swedish automaker ended the year with 21,823 trucks sold, a growth of 45.7% compared to 2020. The result was better than the market average. Overall, segment sales rose by 42.8% in the same period, according to Fenabrave (association of vehicle distributors).

Wilson Lirmann, president of the Volvo group in Latin America, confirms that agribusiness was primarily responsible for the brand’s growth in Brazil, but infrastructure problems are a challenge for the business.

“Agro demand increasingly sophisticated products, with a great competitive advantage from the gate to the inside. But, from the gate to the outside, there are major deficiencies”, says the executive.

One of Lirmann’s concerns is the loss of competitiveness of the domestic industry, which reduces the possibilities of exporting beyond South America, although trucks for global use are assembled here.

Volvo’s president praises measures such as the Low Carbon Finame, which facilitates the purchase of electric or biofuel-powered vehicles, but says that the agenda needs to be broader.

“Brazil needs to integrate into global chains, but the strategy we’ve had so far raises doubts about the future. Our market remains very closed, and this is a critical point.”

Lirmann believes that sales in the heavy vehicle sector will grow by 10% throughout 2022, despite the uncertainties generated in a year with majority elections, expectations of high inflation and increases in the basic interest rate.

“We have a highly volatile environment, but we also have agribusiness and mining, which are still very strong and demanding.”

Volvo’s new investment cycle foresees the arrival of electric trucks in Brazil. The automaker plans to reach zero global emissions by 2040, which will not be possible without reducing the use of fossil fuels.

The company already offers a line of electrified semi-heavy models (load capacity from 16 to 23 tons) on the European market. Versions with a capacity of over 40 tons begin global deliveries scheduled for this year, but there is still no date for launch in Brazil.