di Joao Vitor Rodrigues
SAN PAOLO DEL BRASILE – The automaker Ford, with 102 years of history in the country, announced on the last day xx the end of the production of cars in Brazil and consequently the closure of the three factories, in the cities of Taubaté (SP), Horizonte (CE) and Camaçari (BA). The closure of Ford’s activities was motivated by a series of factors, such as the changing consumption habits of the new generations, the pandemic of the new Coronavirus, the rise in the dollar – which reflects a higher cost of importing parts – and the high idleness of stock in the factories, since the domestic market did not demand as many cars as were produced in the country, as explained by the economist Dr. Edson Trajano, professor at the University of Taubaté. “The reasons for the exit are due to several factors, including the intensification of the automobile market in Brazil. We had the entry of several other companies in the automobile segment and this caused an increase in the supply of cars at a greater pace than the demand for vehicles, mainly after 2016. In this context, some companies faced more difficulty in competitiveness and Ford had a much larger production structure than its consumer market today. This led the multinational to have a greater idle capacity than other companies in the same segment “. These factors led to a reduction in the net inflow of capital to the headquarters, which is the amount sent from the subsidiaries to the headquarters. Since 2014, this cash flow has been reversed, causing the matrix to send more money than it received from subsidiaries so that they continue to produce.
In addition, Trajano highlights another important factor, which is the process of deindustrialization that the country has been going through in recent years, “Another very relevant aspect in this situation is that in Brazil we always had difficulty in organizing an industrial policy. In 1985, 25% of all wealth in the country originated in industrial activity,