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38 February 2019 | AutoData ANNIVERSARY » AUTOMOTIVE HUB OF PARANA T he turn of 1998 to 1999 was a mi- lestone for the Brazilian automotive industry, particularly with regard to productive decentralization. At that time, two big factories were inaugurated in Parana, both in Sao Jose dos Pinhais, municipality of Curitiba: in December 1998, the first Renault Scénic minivans from the Ayrton Senna Complex, which soon after would have Nissan models production – By Glauco Lucena Twenty years celebrated in two months A shy producer of trucks and fiberglass vehicles until the 90s, Parana has become one of the largest automotive hubs of Brazil the first in the world to produce vehicles of both brands within the newly created Alliance. And just a month later, it was the Volkswagen Group unit’s turn to start pro- ducing: first Audi A3 and its cousin, VW Golf, four months later. The almost simultaneous inauguration, 20 years ago, was the starting point for Parana to become, in a few years, Brazil’s second largest automotive hub in revenue Disclosure/Renault