Fortune favors Scania as Ford closes truck production

Swedish heavy automobile giant, Scania, predicts a rise of between 10 and 20% in the sale of its 16-ton plus trucks fabricated in Brazil, as Ford face the closure of truck production in South America. The increase in production, if reached, means the company should produce between 58,000 and 63,000 units this year. The Swedish company is currently in an ongoing process of investing R$2.6bn to improve production in Brazil, following their 2016 investment plan.

Scania’s truck sales rose 50% to 8,643 units in 2018 year-on-year. Of the total number of trucks sold, 8,028 were heavy and accounted for 23% of the market share. The company is optimistic that truck sales are likely to thrive as the country’s booming agribusiness continues to grow and companies add to their fleets.

Earlier this week, DatamarNews reported Ford would close its oldest Brazilian factory in São Bernardo do Campo and shut down its heavy truck business in South America as part of the company’s global restructuring program.

According to a Reuters article, Ford used only 12% of its car production capacity at the Sao Bernardo plant in 2018, whereas its heavy truck output operated at 19 percent capacity. The article indicates that an auto factory will make a loss unless it uses at least 80 percent of its capacity.

São Paulo state governor, Joao Doria, has said he will commit to helping Ford find a buyer for its São Bernardo do Campo plant. The 111.5 hectares plant that mans approximately 3,000 employees, is larger than many of the automaker’s US auto factories.

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