atlaw4u
04-22-2008, 04:24 PM
The country is prosperous and confident, and now longer-term loans are a big incentive. Car sales also are rising elsewhere in Latin America. (http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-fi-garage12apr12,0,1889360.story)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/506/Congestion.jpgChris Kraul - Los Angeles Times - April 12, 2008
Auto sales may be slumping in the U.S., but in Brazil these days, everyone seems to have a new set of otimo -- cool -- wheels.
Bank employee Rafael Hanzava bought not one but two new cars in recent months: a Peugeot and a Fiat. He loved the styling and gas mileage of both of them, but what really sealed the deals, he said, were the five-year loan on the Peugeot and a six-year loan on the Fiat that dealers offered.
As recently as five years ago, a two-year loan was all he could have hoped for, which would have made his monthly payments too high.
Easy credit, a booming economy and growing consumer confidence have unleashed a torrent of pent-up demand for new cars in Latin America's most populous country, pushing the number of autos sold up a staggering 31% so far this year, on top of 28% growth last year.
The rise is one more sign of what many economists describe as a flowering of Brazil's economy, primed by the global demand for its commodities, job and income growth and the country's more stable fiscal condition.
U.S. and other international manufacturers are taking notice. They have announced plans to invest $4.9 billion this year to expand Brazilian plants now running at or near full capacity.
* Ford, which saw sales rise 17% in Brazil last year but experienced a 12% decline in the United States, says it plans $1 billion worth of improvements to its factories here.
* Fiat says it will expand its Betim plant in Minas Gerais state to double its capacity to 800,000 vehicles a year, making it the Italian automaker's largest factory.
* Chrysler has announced that it is teaming with Nissan to distribute Nissan's Versa subcompact in Brazil. The cars will be made mostly at Nissan's factory in Aguascalientes, Mexico, then shipped to Brazil, taking advantage of the two countries' free-trade agreement.
Car sales are rising fast across Latin America, fed by the continent's wealth windfall from sales of commodities it produces, such as oil, iron, cattle, coffee and sugar. Car markets in Colombia, Argentina and Venezuela, where sales grew 46% in 2007, all are on fire.
But automakers see Brazil as the star. For example, Brazil is Chevrolet's largest market outside the U.S. -- it sold 498,800 vehicles there in 2007. It is also GM's third-largest vehicle sales market in the world, behind the U.S. and China.
Not all of Brazil is thrilled about the increase in car ownership. Some government officials are concerned about consumers' rising levels of indebtedness. Outstanding car loans rose 30% last year to nearly $45 billion...http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-fi-garage12apr12,0,1889360.story
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/506/Congestion.jpgChris Kraul - Los Angeles Times - April 12, 2008
Auto sales may be slumping in the U.S., but in Brazil these days, everyone seems to have a new set of otimo -- cool -- wheels.
Bank employee Rafael Hanzava bought not one but two new cars in recent months: a Peugeot and a Fiat. He loved the styling and gas mileage of both of them, but what really sealed the deals, he said, were the five-year loan on the Peugeot and a six-year loan on the Fiat that dealers offered.
As recently as five years ago, a two-year loan was all he could have hoped for, which would have made his monthly payments too high.
Easy credit, a booming economy and growing consumer confidence have unleashed a torrent of pent-up demand for new cars in Latin America's most populous country, pushing the number of autos sold up a staggering 31% so far this year, on top of 28% growth last year.
The rise is one more sign of what many economists describe as a flowering of Brazil's economy, primed by the global demand for its commodities, job and income growth and the country's more stable fiscal condition.
U.S. and other international manufacturers are taking notice. They have announced plans to invest $4.9 billion this year to expand Brazilian plants now running at or near full capacity.
* Ford, which saw sales rise 17% in Brazil last year but experienced a 12% decline in the United States, says it plans $1 billion worth of improvements to its factories here.
* Fiat says it will expand its Betim plant in Minas Gerais state to double its capacity to 800,000 vehicles a year, making it the Italian automaker's largest factory.
* Chrysler has announced that it is teaming with Nissan to distribute Nissan's Versa subcompact in Brazil. The cars will be made mostly at Nissan's factory in Aguascalientes, Mexico, then shipped to Brazil, taking advantage of the two countries' free-trade agreement.
Car sales are rising fast across Latin America, fed by the continent's wealth windfall from sales of commodities it produces, such as oil, iron, cattle, coffee and sugar. Car markets in Colombia, Argentina and Venezuela, where sales grew 46% in 2007, all are on fire.
But automakers see Brazil as the star. For example, Brazil is Chevrolet's largest market outside the U.S. -- it sold 498,800 vehicles there in 2007. It is also GM's third-largest vehicle sales market in the world, behind the U.S. and China.
Not all of Brazil is thrilled about the increase in car ownership. Some government officials are concerned about consumers' rising levels of indebtedness. Outstanding car loans rose 30% last year to nearly $45 billion...http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-fi-garage12apr12,0,1889360.story