Ford completes sale of factory in Taubaté – 04/28/2023 – Market

This Friday (28), Ford ended another step to define the destination of its facilities in Brazil with the conclusion of the agreement for the sale of its former factory in Taubaté (SP) to São José Desenvolvimento Imobiliário.

According to the automaker, the 830,000 m² property will be used for industrial activities by the Vicunha-CSN group, in an agreement between CSN and São José. The payment, whose amount was not disclosed, has already been completed, according to the company.

After this signature, there is still the solution to the imbroglio for the sale of the other factory, in Camaçari (BA), a stuck transaction, which has been negotiated with the Chinese BYD for almost a year.

In early March, information leaked that the transaction was already closed, but Ford released a statement stating that nothing had been resolved.

Expectations grew at the time with the release of optimistic messages on social networks by the Minister of Labor, Luiz Marinho, and by the state governor, Jerônimo Rodrigues (PT), who celebrated the possible resumption of activities in the city. The subject was also on the agenda of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s entourage to China this month.

Those who follow the negotiations say that it is no longer a question of a price dispute, and that a balance has been reached on the value, but there are additional demands from the Chinese that make the agreement unfeasible.

The landing of Ford production in Brazil is a soap opera that has dragged on since January 2021, when the American automaker announced the closure of all its factories in Brazil. The multinational maintains the vehicle commercialization area and an engineering research center with local activities for the export of automotive technology.