Brazil Vehicle Sales Rise 9.15% Jan 1-15; Tax Cuts Cited
20 Januar 2009 - 1:15PM
Dow Jones News
Brazilian tax cuts for automakers translated into sales gains in
early January, said the National Motor Vehicle Dealership
Association, Fenabrave, late Monday.
Brazil sold 9.15% more cars and trucks in the first two weeks of
January when compared to December. Automakers like Fiat (FIAZY),
Volkswagen (VLKAY) and General Motors (GM) sold 94,547 vehicles
total.
However, sales are 1.22% lower than they were in the first two
weeks of January 2008, when cheap credit was flooding Brazil and
consumers rushed to buy new cars.
The breaks were slammed on that car buying frenzy in October,
once local banks quickly raised rates and cut term payments in
response to the ongoing, worldwide credit crisis.
The government offered a reduction on the IPI industrial
products tax for automakers, in order to entice buyers to market
once again.
Car makers cut prices by as much as 7% for some vehicles,
leading to the rise in sales.
Car makers in Brazil, seen as a relief for the international car
companies who have been seeing a sales slump in the U.S. and Europe
for a year now, expect 2009 sales to remain stable after three,
record-breaking years.
-By Kenneth Rapoza, Dow Jones Newswires, 5511-2847-4541,
kenneth.rapoza@dowjones.com
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