Automakers meet with government to discuss credit and taxes

Representatives of five automakers that operate in Brazil, in addition to the board of directors of Anfavea, the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers, met with the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, and the ministry team this Wednesday (22) to discuss solutions that improve the concession of credit in the country and the tax system that focuses on the sale of vehicles.

The meeting, scheduled for 11:00 am at the Ministry of Finance, takes place days after major automakers announced the stoppage of their production due to inconsistencies in the supply of components and demand in the domestic market.

At the beginning of this month, Anfavea released a letter with the results of production and sales in February, with a drop of 2.9% in the number of motor vehicles produced and 1.8% in licensing, in comparison with the same month of last year (see in full).

“Despite being in line with our volume projections for 2023, the performance of the first two months, limited by credit conditions and supply supply, reinforces the need to promote the reheating of the market and local production chains”, summarized Márcio de Lima Leite, president of Anfavea.

Tax reform on automakers’ radar

The meeting at the Ministry of Finance will be attended by, among other members of the portfolio, Bernard Appy, extraordinary secretary for Tax Reform, who should hear requests from automakers for the reform to simplify the taxes charged in the sector.

On the sector side, representatives from Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, CNHi, Iveco and Stelantis (Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot and Citroën) participate. A representative of Ford, the automaker that ended production in Brazil in January 2021, should also participate.

At the beginning of the year, Anfavea said it had held talks with the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) since the transition after the elections, in order to warm up the vehicle industry again. According to Lima Leite at the time, items such as reindustrialization and strengthening of the supplement chain were being debated; improvement in logistics; the reduction of production, commercialization and tax costs; the promotion of exports and new bilateral trade agreements with the participation of the sector to contain the advance of countries like Mexico and China in the supply of vehicles to the world.