The car market - Brazil

1.1 Definition and scope of study

The automobile market encompasses the manufacture of cars, light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles and heavy buses. We can categorize cars by type of fuel consumption such as gasoline, diesel, electricity, ethanol and combined electric motor, and hybrids. The main car manufacturers are Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motors, Ford, Nissan, Honda, PSA, Suzuki, Renault, Fiat, BMW, Mazda, Mitsubishi.

Driven by global environmental awareness initiatives, players around the world are enacting stricter emission controls on new vehicle models. As such, car manufacturers are beginning to expand their business into the electric mobility sector, which is consequently also causing a revolution in the parts sector. One in every three new cars sold should be powered or assisted by an electric battery by 2025. China is expected to lead the market by 2040, with sales of autonomous vehicles forecasted at 14.5 million units.

In Brazil, the sector represents about 22% of industrial GDP. The Brazilian domestic market maintained a high growth rate of around 2.3% of vehicle production in the country in 2019, according to data from Anfavea (National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers). Even so, the persistent crisis in the largest foreign consumer market, Argentina, registered a retraction of 31.9%. As a final result, around 2.9 million vehicles were produced in Brazil in 2019. The lack of quality alternatives with regard to urban public transportation is still one of the main drivers of this market in the country. The domestic sector is expected to continue to ensure production, with an expected growth of 9.4% in the country.