Automaker CAOA to produce new Chinese brand in Goiás in 2026

Since their father died in 2021, the Andrade brothers have moved quickly to expand the family’s automotive group, CAOA. They invested R$3 billion to expand the Anápolis (Goiás) plant, creating new jobs and boosting revenue on the back of rising Chery brand sales. But the group’s most significant step will be announced in the coming months, when it will unveil a new investment plan to start producing vehicles from another Chinese brand, Changan, beginning next year.

Under the leadership of the heirs of Carlos Alberto de Oliveira Andrade, who founded the company 46 years ago and gave it his initials, CAOA has become more robust. Carlos Alberto Filho, now 26, and Carlos Philippe, 23, raised output in Anápolis from 30,000 cars in 2023 to 60,000 in 2024 and expect to reach 70,000 in 2025, with the plant running 24 hours a day.

For the first time, the group revealed its revenue figures in Valor 1000, a publication that ranks the 1,000 largest companies in Brazil using available financial data. In 2024, CAOA ranked 79th, with net revenue of R$16.8 billion, up 43% from 2023, according to the Andrade brothers. For 2025, they forecast revenue of R$20 billion.

The brothers say they were surprised to see, in the same Valor 1000 ranking, that CAOA appears ahead of Renault (net revenue of R$16.4 billion), the first brand the company represented in 1994. Another automaker, Volkswagen Caminhões, also ranked lower, with R$16 billion. Beyond assembling and selling vehicles, CAOA operates an insurance brokerage, a consortium business, and owns 140 dealerships for Chery, Hyundai, Ford, and Subaru.

The group expects further expansion through the partnership with Changan, which the brothers describe as a strategic alliance. All investments to build the new assembly line will come from CAOA. The agreement with the Chinese automaker also includes the future possibility of co-investing to develop a model designed specifically for Brazil.

Changan’s arrival comes at a moment when the heirs’ management is maturing. Their father was a physician from the state of Paraíba who built his fortune after discovering his talent for sales. He bought a bankrupt Ford dealership in Campina Grande as compensation after paying for a car that was never delivered.

When their father died, Carlos Alberto Filho had just graduated in Economics at age 21, and Carlos Philippe, then 19, was still studying Finance, both at top U.S. universities. On paper, they looked unprepared to take over.

But, as Carlos puts it, growing up at their father’s side was “the best education.” With support from their mother, Izabela, now chair of the board, the brothers immediately took control of the company. They proceeded cautiously and, until this interview with Valor, had not granted any media interviews. They wanted time for their work to speak for itself and to avoid the perception of being immature heirs who inherited everything effortlessly.

“Our age is against us. These four years were about staying humble and understanding the situation we were stepping into,” Carlos Alberto said. “Being thrown into this world and keeping a company of this size functioning would already be a challenge. Growing it was an even bigger challenge.” They were also guided by Annuar Ali, Oliveira Andrade’s longtime right-hand man, who joined CAOA in 1992 and is now the group’s vice president.

“We also waited so that the numbers could speak for themselves,” adds Philippe. With 7,000 employees—more than three times the headcount two years ago—production in Anápolis rose from 30,000 vehicles in 2023 to 60,000 in 2024. The target for this year is 70,000.

About a year and a half ago, the Andrade brothers decided to share leadership of the company. They are both presidents, and as their father did, all decisions go through them. “We review the cash flow together every day,” Carlos said.

The partnership extends to marketing, which remains as aggressive as in the days of “Dr. Carlos,” as the founder was known internally. This includes maintaining exclusive use of the iconic TV announcer Ferreira Martins, whose voice promotes each CAOA launch as “the best car in the world.”

The decision to represent Changan also reflects their father’s legacy. The story began in 2019, when “Dr. Carlos” traveled to China in search of a new brand to bring to Brazil. He took his wife and sons, and the family ended up in Chongqing, one of China’s largest cities and Changan’s headquarters, where the automaker was looking for a partner in Brazil.

Although quite young at the time, the brothers say they were impressed by the brand’s technology. Changan is a century-old state-owned company that began as a military manufacturer, started producing vehicles in 1940, and has since focused on the Chinese market, where it remains among the largest. It recently built its first factory outside China, in Thailand.

The agreement took four years to complete. Negotiations were interrupted first by the pandemic and later by CAOA’s founder’s death. The heirs kept looking for partners but grew discouraged, as the proposals they received were merely for importing vehicles, not local production.

In 2023, Carlos was contacted by Changan’s current vice president, Irven Li, who recalled a 2019 dinner with the Andrade family on a riverbank in Chongqing, back when he was still a manager.

Their conversation continued over WeChat until Carlos traveled to China and set three conditions for an agreement: local production of models designed for Brazil, adoption of the CAOA Changan brand in the Brazilian market, and a partnership lasting at least 20 years. According to Carlos, Li accepted all three.

“We wanted to avoid mistakes of the past,” Carlos says, referring to the long legal battles his father faced—first when Renault canceled its partnership to launch its own subsidiary in Brazil, and later with Hyundai, a case in which the courts ruled in Oliveira Andrade’s favor one month before his death.

The Changan line will occupy the space left after CAOA stopped producing Hyundai vehicles. The first model to be assembled remains under wraps.

For now, Changan is debuting in Brazil with Avatr, its ultra-luxury brand unveiled at the São Paulo Auto Show to compete with models like the Porsche Cayenne. Buyers will be able to choose among 42 configurations, with a wait time of up to four months for customized units. Prices have not been disclosed. Ten customers have already placed deposits to reserve early arrivals.

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For CAOA’s presidents, the “flood of Chinese brands” is no surprise. But with the import tariff set to rise to 35% in 2026, these brands “will face challenges” if they do not have local production.

The brothers are optimistic about CAOA’s future. “By focusing on our own capital, especially at a time of high interest rates, we’ve been able to make decisions like this alliance with Changan,” Carlos noted. “The negotiations began with our father, but it was my brother and I who earned the Chinese team’s trust.”

The brothers work intensely and have no plans for time off. “Our father taught us never to take our eyes off the business,” Philippe says. Their entrepreneurial drive was almost “an order.” He recalls that as children, they never left for school without saying goodbye and answering the question their father had trained them to answer: “What will you be when you grow up?” “A great businessman.”

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Source: Valor International

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