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33 AutoData | August 2018 recovery, says Alan Frizeiro, manager of bus sales at Scania Brazil: “There was damming of fleet renewal and part of that volume emerged this year, increasing the numbers”. On the manufacturers’ side Marcopo- lo is also feeling the resumption in sales. “There was a reaction. We have observed, for example, good performance with the vehicles destined to the Caminho da Escola (Way to School) program”, explains Rodrigo Pikussa, director of Negócio Ônibus (Buses Business).»The only segment that has not yet improvedwas regarding the city buses. It is a sector that is going through a very difficult moment, financially speaking». For Volare, the acceleration of the charter and tourism segment got inten- sified this year: «We grew something around 30% in the first half», celebrates João Paulo Pohl Ledur, its director. IT’S NOT A BUBBLE The next fewmonths may confirm the good moment for most part of executives in the sector. “I believe that the second half should grow because there is a con- siderable volume expectation in public bidding, from15% to 20% chance of evo- lution”, estimates Jorge Carrer, of MAN. The school bus program and the bi- ddings have the potential for six thousand negotiated buses, generating a significant impact on the total sales volume. “It’s not a bubble, it’s something that started some time ago and could register an even bi- Even with the largest bidding of Brazil, the city of São Paulo, pending at the Municipal Audit Court, the city bus sector continues to evolve. This was the one that presented the Lat. Bus & Transpúblico 2018 fair, which brought the main manufacturers and bus manufacturers together during three days of exhibition and seminars at the end of July, in the city of São Paulo itself. The president of Fabus, National Association of Bus Manufacturers, Antônio Fernandes Martins, showed optimism with the performance regarding the market this year. “We estimate something around 25% of growth for the end of the year”. This index will help Refrota, a credit line with the FGTS funds to finance city buses. “With the $ 3 billion of this program it would be possible to buy eight thousand city buses. And this has been put into practice”, assured Martins. Otávio Vieira da Cunha Filho, president of NTU, Brazilian National Association of Transport Operators, sees that the impoundment of the fleet renovation in the last years is the explanation for the drastic decrease in the demand – by its calculations, 25% lower than the last four years. The leader also raised positive expectations regarding Refrota, “which allows purchases with more attractive taxes, amortization period of eight years and up to two years of grace period. There are buses being used that have not been paid yet, and this will give time so the companies breathe to recover themselves”. São Paulo disturbs, but… Disclousure/Marcopolo “Exports will start to have a determinant role: there are a lot of stuck businesses. The expectation is to grow even more than the 15% of the first half.” Rodrigo Pikussa, Marcopolo