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10 FROM THE TOP » CARLOS ZARLENGA, GM March 2018 | AutoData the second half of last year, a few good months after integration, and the result was that both the excitement and the satisfaction grew, both expressively. It has been very positive. And did she have towork on the historic frontage? We are the same company, the same business, we are 100% together, and for that we have to give up some things. They have to let go of being called GM Argentina, and here we have to give up being called GM of Brazil. There is nothing wrong with tradition and expe- rience, they are there and no one will ever take awaywhat has happened. GM Mercosul is only away forward, to create a new tradition. Howdoes GMMercosulwork geographi- cally for the management of positions? It does not depend on the country. We picked up where the talents were and that is it, whatever the location. We se- lected the best: some areas are inArgen- tina, others here in Brazil, always serving the entire region. The sales team, for example, now there is a person who is responsible for Mercosul, and below it are others responsible for three areas, with similar volumes, each one with a responsible person. We have an intelli- gence team, divided in parts, alwayswith the best, independent of the country. The same goes for finances and other areas. In your opinion, what about Rota 2030? I think pension and Rota are separate issues. The automotive sector benefited greatly from Inovar-Auto, in technolo- gy, growth, investment. We negocia- ted a whole year, having the right date for Inovar’s finalization and a plan that came into the certain future afterwhich a change of opinionwould eventually take place. I do not think that’s good. It does not generate the credibility to invest long term in Brazil. There have been many conversations with the government in this first two months, through Anfavea or even the individual automakers, and I sincerely hope that there is a way to reach an agreement on Rota 2030. The investments that are being made now were designed to energy efficiency le- vels that arewithin this plan, but without knowingwhat the goalswill be, given the uncertainties, the industry’s investment is in doubt. This is a sector that works in the long run and needs clear rules. Do you believe that Rota can be appro- ved, but only part by part, in stages, ins- tead of a complete package? I think what is being discussed so far is well-founded, has a good basis, the talks were solid. I think that it should it be approved theway it is. Again: if it does not get the approvement, it gives the industry a message of uncertainty, that the rules are not clear in the country to invest. It may vem happen that one part is approved and not the other one, but I would say that it would generate even more doubts, expectations and uncer- tainties for the future. You have just confirmed a new GM in- vestment in Brazil. Can this Rota 2030 issue affect global credibility to the point where we think there may be no GM in Brazil in the future? No, I think this is very radical. But I can clearly say that when there is a long-term plan, such as Rota 2030, it represents the base fromwhich you invest. Yes, we have now confirmed an investment genera- ted from this expectation of Rota 2030 (see page 20). Changing the rules in the middle of the road makes us rethink the future. But because of that, arewe going “Uncertainty about energy efficiency goals calls into question the industry investment”