BYD Expands Production in Brazil

News: Central/South America

2023-07-27

BYD Expands Production in Brazil

BRAZIL/SOUTH AMERICA REPORT 
Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

BYD announced the installation of an industrial complex in Camaçari, Bahia. The largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world, the Asian giant will invest, in five years, about US$ 600 Million (R $ 3 Billion) in the installation of three factories at the Bahia complex, generating about 5,000 direct and indirect jobs. In addition to passenger vehicles, electric bus and truck chassis will be made on site, as well as a battery split.

The company will take over Ford’s facilities. The deal, however, has not yet been officially announced. The Camaçari pole is the last factory that still belonged to the North American brand in Brazil. The automaker, which announced the end of its local production in 2021, has already sold its facilities in Taubaté (SP) and São Bernardo do Campo (SP).

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First VW Truck Produced in Argentina

The first Volkswagen truck has just left the new exclusive area for the assembly of commercial vehicles of the Industrial Center of Córdoba, Argentina. The vehicle, a VW Delivery 11,180, will be used in the validation of the manufacturing process and for the training of employees. Then it will be part of the fleet that will run tests around the country. The agreement announced by Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus and Volkswagen Argentina in December 2022 provides for the manufacture of five models of the brand in that country from 2024.

The new assembly line in Córdoba occupies an area of 15,000 square meters to produce the VW Delivery 9,170 and 11,180 trucks, the VW Constellation 17,280 in chassis-cab and horsepower versions, as well as the Volksbus 15.190 OD bus chassis.

Source: Press Release   Read The Article

PSR Analysis. This production is an important milestone for VW’s plan to produce in scale in 2024 and forward. Forecasts of introduction and production/sales ramp ups are available in PSR’s OE Link/OE Link Sales databases. PSR

Fabio Ferraresi is Director Business Development-South America for Power Systems Research

Alternative Propulsion MHVs Down 55% YTD in Brazil

Unlike what happened with automobiles, in which new propulsion technologies registered an increase of almost 60% in the first half of 2023, heavy vehicles powered by electricity or gas dropped 55.5% in this period.

From the 604 units licensed in H1 2022, the volume fell to 269 from January to June this year. The survey was released by the National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea).

Source: Automotive Business    Read The Article

PSR Analysis. Although OEMs say the drop is in line with the overall market reduction, the ICE market does not account for the significant decrease in sales. Sales from January to June 2023 are only 1% below 2022 in the same period. The small volumes and the size of orders can explain the oscillation with orders postponed from Q1 2023 and Q2 2023 with expectations for incentives and better credit in the second half of 2023.

Fabio Ferraresi is Director Business Development-South America for Power Systems Research

Scania Launches HV Truck with 900km Range

The X-gas line, presented by Scania in June 26, in Piracicaba (SP) will have versions with powers of 280, 340 and 410 horsepower, and has a range of 900 kilometers, 400 km more than Scania’s debut version in the gas segment.

The longer range was made possible by increasing the number of cylinders that store fuel in the chassis of the vehicles. There are 16 tanks, eight on each side, with a capacity ranging between 118 and 95 liters. In the gas truck previously launched by Scania, there were eight tanks in total.

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2023-06-19

XCMG To Produce EV Trucks in Brazil in Two years

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

XCMG announced plans to produce battery electric trucks in Brazil at Pouso Alegre (MG) plant in two years. Until then, the company expects to build a local network of suppliers and wait for new industrial policies that are expected for the electric vehicle segment.

The current plan consists of starting with the assembly of chassis and cabins at the Minas Gerais plant with components produced by local suppliers. Batteries and other components of the electric powertrain will be imported from China.

This first stage fits the company’s electric trucks within the scope of Finame, the BNDES credit line that finances the acquisition of machinery and equipment. To access this line, the product to be financed must have a certain percentage of parts and components produced in the country.

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Brazil Announces Incentives for MHV and LV

BRAZIL/SOUTH AMERICA REPORT  

The Brazilian Federal Government this month has announced a package of incentives for the automotive sector during a press conference held in Brasilia (DF). The program intends to bail out the country’s automakers at a time of weak demand for new vehicles.

The final text includes passenger cars, Minivans and SUVs, Trucks and Buses through discounts granted to the consumer, and not by tax reduction to automakers, as was expected.

Total spending of Federal Government is US$ 300 Million (R$ 1.5 Billion). Funds are expected to come from the return of taxes on diesel sales, which was planned to happen in January 2024, but it is anticipated to meet the program of the automotive sector.

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2023-05-24

Show Report: Automec 2023

The Power Systems Research team in Brazil attended Automec 2023 this month, the show dedicated to the On Highway aftermarket. It’s the show that features main components manufacturers selling in Aftermarket.

This year’s edition took place April 25-29 at São Paulo Expo where more than 1500 brands were shown by 450 international exhibitors from 12 countries, in seven international pavilions.

More than 90,000 attendees visited the show(20% above last edition), with 30% of returning rate, coming from all regions of Brazil and 60 countries. The estimated volume of business is US$ 6 Billion (R$ 29,5 Billion).

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Show Report: Agrishow 2023

SHOW REPORT  
Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

Our Power Systems Research South America Team visited the Agrishow 2023, in Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brazil, visiting customers and checking the new launches and market expectations. It’s the world’s largest show on Agricultural Equipment       

The general expectations of exhibitors we talked with were not positive. Exhibitors carefully spoke about some factors influencing the market, such as lower commodities prices and the new government often speaking against Agribusiness that does not promote positive investment decisions.

On the other hand, the projections of business during the show surpass US$ 2,6 Billion (R$ 13,2 Billion), that is 18% nominal growth over 2022 business and actual growth of 9.5% discounting inflation. The expectation is for a recovery in commodities prices in 2H 2023. The government is also announcing more credit for this segment and OEMs are offering their own credit lines.

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2023-04-18

Volvo Tests Renewable LNG Truck

BRAZIL/SOUTH AMERICA REPORT  
Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

Volvo plans to test trucks fueled by vegetable origin LNG, gas in liquid form. According to the president of Volvo Trucks in Latin America, Wilson Lirmann, gas from renewable waste makes more sense in the transport operation because it contributes to nullifying the emission of CO2 in the fleet of commercial vehicles.

In this sense, the brand should soon bring LNG-powered trucks to the region. Brazil is a focus market, but possibly these trucks will debut in other South America countries. That’s because the infrastructure is still under development in Brazil. Although Lirmann does not say which countries in the region will receive the brand’s first gas trucks, it is known that Argentina and Chile already have more developed technology and infrastructure. 

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Vale Increases Use of BE Locomotives in Brazil

As part of the strategy of accelerating the use of technologies that use renewable sources, Vale received at the end of March its second 100% electric locomotive, powered by battery. Manufactured in China by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive (CRRC ZELC), the equipment will initially operate in the maneuvering yard of the Ponta da Madeira Terminal in São Luís (MA). Its batteries, made of lithium, have a storage capacity of 1000 kWh, with autonomy to operate up to 10 hours without stops for recharging.

CRRC’s locomotive is part of Vale’s strategy to electrify its mine and rail equipment. The two areas account for 25% of the company’s direct carbon emissions, the so-called scope 1. In 2019, Vale announced the goal of zeroing its net emissions of scopes 1 and 2 (relative to electricity consumption) by 2050. To this end, it is investing between US$ 4 billion and US$ 6 billion.

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