Amidst the dispute between automakers for greater access to subsidies in the country, the federal government presented this Tuesday, 26th, at an event at Palácio do Planalto, the first rules of the Green Mobility Program (Mover), launched in December to replace to Rota 2030. Mover provides, among other measures, financial credits for those who invest in research, development and technological production that contribute to the decarbonization of the fleet of cars, buses and trucks.
Among other aspects, this first ordinance regulating the program provides for minimum spending on research and development (R&D), a system for monitoring investments and penalties in case of non-compliance with obligations.
The program requires automakers to make a minimum investment in R&D in relation to the total gross revenue from the sale of goods and services related to automotive products. The rates vary according to the type of vehicle. For cars and light commercial vehicles, for example, the minimum percentage of gross revenue that entitles you to tax credits starts at 1% this year, and gradually increases until reaching 1.8% in 2028.
“The projects can be presented from today (yesterday), when the ordinance regulating Mover was signed”, said the vice-president and minister of Industry, Geraldo Alckmin.
At the start, however, the requirement will be lower than the minimum required by Rota 2030, which was in force until the end of last year. The minimum investment percentage required in 2023 was 1.2% of gross revenue. The government recognizes that the new program starts from a lower level than what exists today, and claims that this is necessary so as not to harm the entry of new investments in the future. This year, the government set aside R$3.5 billion from the Budget to offer tax exemptions to the automotive industry, a value that will reach R$19.3 billion by 2028.
Division
The automobile industry is facing a dilemma about which technology will power Brazilian cars in the coming years. Whether the flex hybrid, focusing on the use of ethanol, a renewable fuel used for over 40 years in Brazil, or the electric one, which brings together discussions of battery recycling and the need to increase the extraction of raw materials, such as lithium and aluminum.
This division appeared at yesterday’s event. On one side of the guest table was the National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea), which brings together the largest combustion car manufacturers in the country. On the opposite side, the Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association (ABVE).
The president of ABVE, Ricardo Bastos, was the first to speak and immediately recalled that China, today the largest producer and consumer of electric cars in the world, took a leap forward by investing in technology. “I believe that Brazil is able to take advantage of these lessons with the renewable energy that we have – and, who knows, we can seek to take a leap forward in our industry,” said Bastos.
He was followed by Márcio Lima, president of Anfavea: “Brazil is an eclectic country. It will have the decarbonization route through biofuels, with ethanol, with pure electricity. We will have all the routes to decarbonization.”
Behind the scenes and in public, Lula government authorities have already shown a preference for Brazil to develop electric cars, but give priority to hybrids (which combine electricity and combustion) with flex engines. Only Toyota currently manufactures vehicles with this feature, and the challenge is to invest in a technology that is unlikely to have a market outside the country – reducing potential economies of scale for manufacturers.
But it was the speech by trade unionist Moisés Selerges Júnior, from the ABC Metalworkers Union, President Lula’s political birthplace, that caught the executives’ attention. Not only because of the influence of the union movement on the PT government, but also because of the connection it made with the creation of jobs in the sector.
“China has invested in the electrification of vehicles, as said here, and we think that (the flex hybrid) is the best path (for Brazil). Do companies have employment targets? We know that if we make a comparison of a combustion engine with an electric motor, the number of parts is 60% smaller (in the electric one)”, he said.
The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.
