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60 Outubro 2018 | AutoData By André Barros Heading for the third shift Nissan plans: when the market reaches 2.7 million/year, it will expand production in Resende. MANUFACTURERS/LIGHT VEHICLES » NISSAN I n June, just a few weeks after the truck drivers’ strike, the president of Nissan, Marco Silva, presented at the AutoData Review of Perspectives Seminar the company’s new visions for the Brazilian vehicle market. At that time he reduced the total sales estimate for 2018 by 50 thousand units, adjusted to 2 million 450 thousand automobiles and light commercial vehicles. And nothing has changed so far: despite the fast sales reaction at the beginning of the second semester, the uncertainties generated by the elections and the explosion of another crisis in Argentina his estimates regarding Brazil continue placidly unchanged. And he projects growth for next year: “The market will not decrease again. It may even go sideways, but it has a great potential to increase. Up to two digits.” Silva reveals to be working with the possibility of opening the third shift at the factory in Resende, RJ, for next year, when the pace of the lines is expected to grow from 10% to 15%. If his expectations for a total market of 2.7 million cars and light commercials vehicles sold in Brazil in 2019 become reality, certainly the decision will be made. “We will have to be quick to react to any increase in demand. We aim to grow above the market average because we will have additional volume by the Frontier model, which will come from Argentina with more versions.” The Argentine situation, however, worries the executive. He admits that the Argentine market will not reach the 900 thousand units estimated at the beginning of the year, closing at 750 thousand. To keep Resende’s factory exports pace, from which 15% of the production supplies Argentine dealers, Nissan is already looking for other markets to sell its Brazilian models, especially Kicks, in other markets in Latin America. The component nationalization plans in Brazil, begun in 2015, are expected Disclousure/Nissan