In this final week of January 2021, General Motors is celebrating 96 years of operations in Brazil, a country with the main automotive market in South America and the company’s third largest operation in the world, behind China and the United States. The celebration coincides with another important milestone for GM, since the automaker has just reached the mark of 17 million vehicles manufactured in the country.
Chevrolet Tracker production in São Caetano do Sul plant
The company announced that it has already produced more than 17 million units through three vehicle plants that it currently owns in Brazil: São Caetano do Sul (São Paulo), São José dos Campos (São Paulo) and Gravataí (Rio Grande do Sul). Combined with good business performance, this supports the recent resumption of the 2020-2024 investment plan to further modernize its facilities and build next-generation vehicles.
Chevrolet TrailBlazer SUV production in São José dos Campos plant
“This is important milestone that shows the size of the commitment that GM has with Brazil. And this commitment is returned by the Brazilians,” said GM South America President, Carlos Zarlenga, in a statement. “Onix has been the best-selling car for six years and the market leader in general for five years. In retail sales, which reflect consumer preference, we have been leaders since 2013 and this leadership has been expanding in recent years. We closed 2020 with six percentage points ahead of the runner-up,” he added.
Assembly line of São Caetano do Sul plant in 1936
In fact, the company’s top executive in the region affirms that right now, the Chevrolet brand is enjoying the best moment since it was introduced in Brazil nearly 100 years ago. “As a result of this, our research indicates that the Chevrolet brand has never been so well positioned as it is now. It is an anniversary full of conquests and meaning,” Zarlenga concluded.
Assembly line of GM Brazil’s ABC plant in 1950
Founded in late January 1925, GM Brazil is the largest automotive company in all of South America and the second largest subsidiary the company owns outside of the United States, behind its operations in China. Unlike other markets around the world, GM only manufactures and markets Chevrolet vehicles in Brazil, which recorded two consecutive years as the brand’s second largest market with 338,549 units sold.
Chevrolet Onix production in Gravataí plant
Adding three automotive plants equipped with the latest and highly efficient assembly technologies, GM currently has a manufacturing capacity of about 740,000 units per year in Brazil. Additionally, the Gravataí factory that exclusively produces the best-selling second-generation Chevrolet Onix is considered the world’s most efficient car plant, capable of manufacturing 25,000 units of the model in just 20 days.
Here is the most significant news from GM Brazil in the last year:
- GM Builds 4 Millionth Vehicle At Its Brazil Gravataí Plant – March, 2020
- GM Repairs Ventilators At Its Five Brazilian Factories – April, 2020
- Chevrolet Launches First Online Vehicle Store In Brazil – May, 2020
- General Motors Restarts Production At São Caetano do Sul Plant In Brazil – May, 2020
- GM Is Manufacturing Face Masks In South America To Resume Vehicle Production – May, 2020
- GM Brazil Resumes Production At All Its Five Plants – June, 2020
- Brazilian Chevrolet S10 Celebrates 25 Years And 1 Million Units Produced – July, 2020
- General Motors’ Gravataí Plant Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary – July, 2020
- GM São Caetano Do Sul Plant In Brazil Celebrates 90 Years – August, 2020
- GM Launches ‘Chevrolet Live Store’ Digital Showroom In Brazil – October, 2020
- General Motors Builds 1 Millionth Engine At Joinville Plant In Brazil – December, 2020
- Chevrolet Was Once Again Brazil’s Best-Selling Brand In 2020 – January, 2021
- General Motors Resuming Manufacturing Investment Plan In Brazil – January, 2021
- GM South America Resumes Development Of Four Next-Gen Chevrolet Models – January, 2021
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Comments
Congratulations!
And … Ford just announced (2 weeks ago, I think), to close 3 factories in Brazil, to provide cars un future from neighboring countries.
OTAH, recently (before the finalisation of the Stellantis merger), I read an article claiming that the FCA brands are leading in South America. FCA was present in Brasil with FIAT, RAM, and Jeep.
Indeed, Ford announced this decision and was taken as a surprise by the media, employees, dealers and consumers. It has reached this point because of its poor management and obsolete products. In addition to low sales due to the latest crises, it contributed to this decision.
It has reached this point because of its poor management and obsolete products in relation to security and technology when compared to the competition.
If you add Fiat’s sales (330,000) to Jeep’s (110,000), FCA leads the Brazilian market. RAM does not have much influence, as it sold approximately 1,500 units only.