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46 October 2018 | AutoData PERSPECTIVES 2019 » LUXURY MARKET By Caio Bednarski But Audi, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz, all with factories in Brazil, believe in a positive year for the segment in sales Exchange rate worries premium brands T he automotive sector will grow as a whole in 2018, but specifically for the luxury market the result is still un- certain. According to more optimistic executives from companies of the seg- ment such as Fréderic Drouin, president of Jaguar Land Rover, sales on this range may grow from 8% to 10%. Helder Boavida, president of BMW, sets his bet on the 8%. Johannes Roscheck, president of Audi, is on the cautious side. For him, the luxury market took another year to feel the crisis effects and, equally, it will take more time to grow again: “I believe that the segment will be sta- ble due to the scenario of uncertainties that we have for the next months. If sales grow, it will be just a little”. Philipp Schiemer, president of Mer- cedes-Benz, follows the same line: “All instability that surrounds the sector will make growth more difficult this year be- cause there is no euphoria atmosphere in customers, especially in our segment”. The private sales performance of each brand regarding this year reflect the expec- tations for the total market of the segment. BMW estimates an expansion of 10% to 13%, said Boavida: “In the accumulated of the year, until August, our sales increa- sed 16%, but I don’t believe that it will be possible to keep this growth until the end of the year”. Jaguar Land Rover grew 18% over the same period, mostly by the novelties per- formance of the Jaguar E-Pace and Land Rover Velar. But its president projects a little more modest increase for the year, even inside the double-digit range. In the case of Audi, sales are expected to close steadily in comparison with last year. Mercedes-Benzwas the only one of the four companies that did not reveal sales expectations for the year. Schiemer said he “can’t project a number for the end of the year in the face of so many uncertainties, but if the segment market does not grow our sales should follow the same path. We