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31 AutoData | March 2018 difficulties: “Brazil-Argentina integration is a reality in our plants.” The Porto Real factory in Rio de Janeiro sends Peugeot 208 and 2008 and Citroën C3 and Aircross to the Mercosul’s partner. Meanwhile the El Palomar unit receives investments of US$ 320 million for pro- duction of vehicles based on the newCMP platform of 2019. Currently it sends the Peugeot 308, 408 and Partner to Brazil, in addition to the Citroën C4 Lounge - which has just been restyled. ENJOY At the end of last year the governments of Brazil and Argentina began negotiations to create joint legislation in order to stan- dardize the vehicles produced in the two countries. The objective of the measure is to reduce obstacles and costs of bila- teral trade, in addition to increasing the competitiveness of products produced in the region in other markets. According to Antônio Jorge Martins, coordinator of the MBA in strategic ma- nagement of companies of the FGV au- tomotive chain, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, “it is important to enjoy Mercosul in order to gain access to other markets. In this sense the standardization is fundamen- tal, because it will reduce costs with the adaptation of products “. Rovera, of the PDC, adds that “the au- tomotive industry is the one that is better oriented in this sense and this is due to the effort of the automakers than to the role of the governments”. But for him, Argentine suppliers are not in a position to compete with the Brazilian ones - again because of the very different volumes. “The Argentine government could offer some incentive to local suppliers because the logistics from Brazil to Argentina is very expensive.” Di Si, of VW, in turn, says that produ- cing parts in Argentina has a reduced cost when compared to Brazil. “So much so that Volkswagen produces transmissions there that are exported here. Other auto- makers do the same”. He points out that “in general the agenda of the Argentine government has as a goal also to make local auto parts stronger”. Disclousure/Citroën Argentina