From the Newsroom*
São Paulo – Volvo is going to invest US$ 75 million in Brazil in the next three years. According to information supplied by a spokesperson for the company, the investment will be turned to the development of products. The company factory in the country, which is also the headquarters for company operations in South America, is in the city of Curitiba, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná.
The last Volvo Brazil investment program was announced in January 2003 and completed last year. Investment totalled US$ 100 million in the release of a new line of semi-heavy lorries and in the updating and renovation of the company line of heavy lorries. The company invested US$ 400 million in the country over the last 10 years.
In 2005 Volvo Brazil sold a record 10,311 lorries on the local and foreign market, against 8,350 units in 2004, growth of 21%. Brazil, according to a company spokesperson, is the third largest world market for Volvo Trucks. Company heavy lorry exports grew 109% and those of semi-heavy lorries, 102%. Foreign sales of buses, in turn, grew 196%.
In all, the factory traded 12,144 vehicles, between lorries and bus chassis, in Brazil and abroad, 33% more than in 2004. "It was a positive year, marked by a considerable sales volume, by the release of new vehicles, and by the continuation of our efforts to supply clients with advanced products and with great operational efficiency," stated Tommy Svensson, the president of Volvo Brazil, according to a company spokesperson.
Buses
In the area of buses, Volvo, which produces heavy chassis in Brazil, sold 2,013 units last year, against 814 in 2004. In all, 1,779 buses were sold for use in the mass public transport system in Santiago, Chile. This was the largest volume of bus sales ever made by Volvo Bus in the entire company history.
Volvo Brazil produces lorries, bus chassis and construction equipment and trades maritime and industrial engines. The company has been operating in the country for 27 years. In global terms, sales of lorries by Volvo Truck Corporation reached 103,696 vehicles, 7% more than in the previous year.
*Translated by Mark Ament
