AD MAGAZINE 342

15 AutoData | March 2018 Anfavea’s forecast for this year, up 13%, is already seen by many executives as pessimistic, especially because of the results of the first quarter - the projec- tion was calculated by the association in December. Everything looks great and therewould be only reasons to celebrate, if it was not for the automotive sector full of nuances and extremely particularities. This strong advance in production, even more coming from a panorama that the numbers of manufacturing of double digits vehicles of 2014 to 2016, do not find support of linear form by the whole chain. That’s because on the one hand there are much more optimistic automakers, anxious to recover losses, that talk about growing their individual producing num- bers in the range of 20% or even more, 25%. And on the other side there are sup- pliers, especially Tier 2 and 3 down, much more conservative, still with the wounds from crisis, working with index from one digit for a rise on their lines for that year. This mismatch, naturally, can run into missing pieces in the second semester or 2019 if nothing is done there. It is certainly a good, a great problem compared to those faced in the last three years, when the question was absolutely the opposite - there was still a piece for the car that would not be produced for lack of a buyer. But it’s still a problem, and it needs to be faced immediately. VW ALREADY FELLS IT With regard to the possibility of gaps in the supply of components on the far- -away assembly line, the most worried is Volkswagen which speaks of growing 20% this year. For the company the question is not if there will be a lack of parts: there is a lack of parts already. Pablo Di Si, president for South Ameri- ca, reveals that since the end of last year VWof Brazil have incomplete cars in their patios, awaiting components for the finali- zation of production. To minimize the issue the manufacturer promotes sort of scan to verify the situation of its suppliers, both in terms of capacity and financial health. “There is a fear of not growing so much because of a lack of parts. There are su- ppliers that have difficulty even in buying raw material, so we are being proactive in helping the chain, so that it can follow -23% -11% +25% +13% 2015 2016 2017 2018*