Pandemic doesn't alter Toyota plans for Brazil
As soon as the novel coronavirus began spreading in Brazil, carmakers suspended or postponed investment programs in the country. But not all followed that path. Toyota decided to maintain the plan of investing R$1 billion in its Sorocaba, São Paulo plant. It thus kept unchanged the timeline for development of a new car, which will absorb the investments and is expected to go on sale in the middle of next year.
In an interview with Valor, the Toyota president for Latin America and the Caribbean, Masahiro Inoue, says the pandemic can't serve as excuse to postpone such an important project. "I don't want to give up. I have worked for this; I think it will be good for Brazil and something good must be done as planned," he says. Details on the new vehicle, whose project was announced in September 2019, during visit of São Paulo Governor João Doria to Japão, will be kept under wraps until the end of the year.
Toyota will resume production at its four factories in Brazil only next week. It will be one of the last carmakers to return to activity, after almost three months of halt because of covid-19. Mr. Inoue says he would even have liked to return to work earlier. But he notices in talks with dealerships that the market has not yet reacted enough. Every day he talks with one or two dealerships.
The good news, meanwhile, is at the factory of Argentina, where Toyota produces the Hilux pickup. The unit in Zárate, Greater Buenos Aires, resumed operations on May 18 because pickup sales have been outperforming the rest of the market both in Brazil and Argentina, Mr. Inoue says. He attributes the demand for this type of vehicle to agricultural activity in both countries.
The growth of pickup sales has already altered the share of Hilux in Toyota models in Brazil. Having accounted for 18.7% of the brand's sales in 2019, it has represented 24.6% this year, and in May reached 31%. For Mr. Inoue, pickup sales are likely to fall between 10% and 20% this year in Brazil, whereas the total vehicle market is likely to contract by 30% to 40%.
Despite the difficulties that Mr. Inoue faces to deal with social distancing, "locked at home," the pandemic helped him get closer to the parent company. Meetings that used to occur every two months, when he traveled to Japan, became weekly, via video. The command always wants details of the pandemic situation in São Paulo, Brazil and region.
"And I explain very well, without exaggerations and without softening; this is my...
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