The president of Anfavea (National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers), Márcio de Lima Leite, said this Thursday (25) that he believes that, with the measures announced by the Lula government (PT) for the industry, the price of the cheapest car on the market may fall below R$ 60 thousand.
According to him, this may even apply to vehicles already produced and which are in the companies’ stocks.
“The Ministry of Finance is doing the math to see the validity of the measures, it will take place for a year, six months, two months. Time is fundamental to talk about the size of the waiver. The industry works with a minimum of 12 months”, said Milk.
This Thursday, vice president Geraldo Alckmin announced a plan to reduce car prices. The main measure will be the reduction of taxes for vehicles of up to R$ 120 thousand, with the reduction of IPI and PIS/Cofins.
Reductions in the final prices of vehicles will vary from 1.5% to 10.96% – discounts will be greater for cheaper cars. In addition to price, two other factors will be taken into account to determine the size of the discount: energy efficiency and national production. The government will still specify how many reduction ranges there will be.
At the meeting, the government informed that the package will be detailed within 15 days. Until then, Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance) will carry out calculations of compensatory measures for loss of revenue with incentives.
“In 2013, we sold 3.8 million vehicles in one year. Right now, we are working with 2.1 million. It is a reduced demand, still far from that level”, said Leite in a press conference at Fiesp (Federação das Indústrias of the State of São Paulo) during the afternoon.
“It is a first and important step towards the resumption of the automobile industry in Brazil. The measures could impact the market between 200,000 and 300,000 units, depending on the rules.”
The initial objective of the package was to reduce the initial values of compact models with 1.0 engine to something between R$ 50,000 and R$ 60,000. Today, the cheapest car sold in Brazil is the Renault Kwid in the Zen version, which costs R$69,000.
According to the vice-president, the cheapest cars can start to be sold for a value below R$ 60 thousand because, in addition to tax reductions, there is the possibility of direct sales by the industry, which would represent an “important ex-tariff discount “.
The federal government claims that the reduction in prices can reach 33 models, from 11 brands.
The high prices of popular cars have become a frequent complaint by President Lula. “The car factory is not selling well, but what poor person can buy a R$90,000 popular car?”, questioned the PT, during the inaugural session of the Development, Economic and Social Council, at the beginning of the month.
Conversations to define the measures were held directly between the government and companies in the sector. The details of the plan were finalized on Wednesday, during a meeting between Lula, Alckmin and the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad.
