It’s just a ride... but not always a smooth one
In the last century, market protection in the form of tariffs and quotas on imports prompted companies to open or expand automotive production facilities within Brazil, helping stimulate the local economy. In fact, the revenue generated by the Brazilian automotive industry averaged around 60 billion U.S. dollars in recent years. However, in the past decade, the sector has had to endure a few bumps on the road, the latest being an unparalleled pandemic. In 2020, passenger cars production in Brazil – which account for more than three quarters of the country’s motor vehicle output – reached the lowest figure recorded in at least ten years, with around 1.6 million units. This put a stop to the continuing growing trend reported between 2016 and 2019, as the country started bouncing back from an economic crisis that hit back in 2014.Likewise, motor vehicle sales are also directly affected by a nation's social and economic conjecture. In 2020, approximately two million new motor vehicles were sold in Brazil. Just a year earlier, this figure stood at nearly 2.8 million units. While this was the largest figure reported since 2014, it still lagged far behind the average 3.5 million units sold annually in the first half of the decade.
