AD_MAGAZINE_349

22 October 2018 | AutoData By André Barros Do the exports also helped raise the expectation? No becausewe have a delicate question regarding exports, especially because of the situation in Argentina. But I believe that the Brazilian domestic market will end up absorbing an eventual reduction in the foreign sales. How dependent on Argentina are the exports? Around 65% of our exports are sent to that country and sales have fallen in recent months. We are acting in other markets, such as Colombia and Peru, wherewe are trying to increase sales, but it is a very big challenge because these markets have a very strong presence of Asian motorcycles, at lower prices. Our special feature is quality, the Brazilian motorcycle is recognized for its quality in these markets and that is our bet. And the domestic market in Brazil, how will it close 2018? We are projecting 915 thousand units in retail, which will represent an increase of 7.5% over last year. The expectation is to reach an average of 3.6 thousand motorcycles sold per day: in July, this average stayed at 3 thousand 465 units per day, but it was a reflection of the truck drivers’ strike, which generated the lack of supply in the dealership chain. Has the strike also caused losses in the production numbers? Certainly. Many companies ended up by anticipating vacations for June due to the strike, which reduced the lines pace. In August, the daily average jumped to 3,9 thousand units per day, so we reco- vered a little of the volume decrease. It is possible to believe that in the overall average of the year we will be able to reach that average of 3,6 thousand per day, maybe even a little more. FROM THE TOP » MARCOS FERMANIAN, ABRACICLO RACE FOR THE MILLION Abraciclo has recently revised its pro- duction forecast upwards for 2018. Has the performance exceeded expectations until now? Yes, we revised the projections upwards after considering some factors. And this review is maintained. We will close the year with production of 980 thousand motorcycles in the Industrial Pole of Ma- naus, about 100 thousand more units than we produced last year, which will represent an increase of 11%. Our pre- vious projectionwas 935 thousand units.