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5 11.26 to 12.1.2018 South American operations, investments from € 25 million to € 30 million for the next two years to maintain a 6% average increase in revenues until 2023. “We are ready for the future and for the transformation of the industry in South America”, Rosenfeld told a group of journalists hours before the party. “We have a philosophy of producing in the region for the region. We intend to grow together with the market and add more Schaeffler content to the vehicles, to gain market share.” The investments will be dedicated, basically, to processes for cost reduction, new technologies and product development. According to Zavanella, there is no need to expand the capacity of the Sorocaba plant, where Schaeffler moved to in 1975 after the land in Santo Amaro (a neighborhood in São Paulo) became small for the company’s local businesses. Although the company’s developments are directed to electrification, Rosenfeld has considered that there is still plenty of room for combustion engines. He said that the company designs for the future of propulsion something called 70% -70%: 30% of vehicle sales will have combustion engines in 2030, 30% with electric motors and 40% with hybrids, which mix both technologies. The bet in Brazil still is ethanol, which he considers a clean alternative - even, perhaps, cleaner than electric when looking at the entire energy chain, from production to the recycling of batteries. The particularities of Brazil also guarantee to the country the position of competence center in development and production of some components. Rosenfeld mentioned manual transmissions, which were still the majority in the local market: as the United States and Europe had the majority of their sales with the automatic transmission, so eventually Brazil became reference for other markets: “We develop clutch bearings for the Indian market”. But it does not mean that the Brazilian operation can’t participate in the vanguard of the global market as well: precision rings and springs come from Sorocaba to be applied in electric shafts produced in China. Schaeffler does not mention its revenues in South America, but according to Rosenfeld 21% of sales come from the America region - which brings together the United States and Mexico. Last year, the company’s revenue surpassed € 14 billion.