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8 FROM THE TOP » CARLOS ALBERTO OLIVEIRA ANDRADE April 2018 | AutoData T he doctor Carlos Alberto Oli- veiraAndrade, or simplyCaoa, an acronym that names his own company, is one of the most known and controversial fi- gures in the Brazilian automotive industry. And, no doubt, today he is also themost successful entrepre- neur in his activitywhen placed side by sidewith other contemporaries, such as José Luiz Gandini, Eduardo Souza Ramos and Sérgio Habib. The four traced very similar pa- ths: theywere born in the distribu- tion and then looked for ways to become manufacturers. At some point or somehowall four seriously pursued the dream of giving birth to a legitimately national assem- bler, even from the technology of global brands. And Caoa gua- rantees that with the partnership closed with Chery this dream will be realized. In this interview with AutoDa- ta , granted exclusively in his own residence, in the Jardins neigh- borhood, in São Paulo, something very rare - the last one in 2014, for Exame magazine, of Editora Abril - he openly told thewhole story of how they unfolded the long and tense negotiations with the Chine- se automaker, revealing how their relations are at the moment with Hyundai and much more. Interview by Leandro Alves and Marcos Rozen The greatest operation of Doctor Carlos we talked to Foton, which also wanted to do business with us. And why was there no deal with Great Wall? The business has evolved a lot, but then they had problems in Europe and had to back down. In China they were well accepted, so they focused more on the domestic market itself. Then I went to BAIC, which has a joint venture with Hyundai in China. Theywanted to make a factory in Brazilwith us, 50% - 50%, with joint development, would be very good. But when we talked to Hyundai about it they answered ‘no way’. And did Hyundai offer something in re- turn? Yes, it was when I made a stronger agre- ement with them, to raise the volume of production in Annapolis. They said they How did the conversations with Chery begin? I’ve been looking for a Chinese brand to join me since 2010, 2011, when Hyundai decided to build a factory here in Brazil and I realized that business would be divided. I had to prepare myself for the future. The first conversations were with BYD, andwe came to very advanced ne- gotiations. I met the owner of BYD, I went to his house in China. He is a fantastic comrade, he really liked me and I really liked him, but they are very connected to the electric car issue and it was not the time, theyweremore expensive cars, it did not work. Then I talked to Great Wall and we also evolved a lot in the conversations, theywere small but they were growing, setting up two factories of 800 thousand cars each, side by side, part of the plan to reach 2,5 million units produced in 2015. And at the same time