Production and sale of fuel-free vehicles soar in the country

The production and sale of non-fuel vehicles, such as bicycles and electric cars, have been increasingly boosted in Brazil.

According to data from the Brazilian Association of Manufacturers of Motorcycles, Mopeds, Scooters, Bicycles and Similar (Abraciclo), the bicycle market is expected to grow 17.4% this year compared to last year.

The electric vehicle sector is also optimistic. According to the Brazilian Association of Electric Vehicles (ABVE), the forecast is for 80% growth in 2022.

According to the vice president of the bicycle segment at Abraciclo, Cyro Gazola, the increase in demand began during the pandemic, a period when people were looking for activities to do outside the home.

“We have seen that in the last two years there has been an accelerated growth in demand from the Brazilian population. As people couldn’t travel, go to the gym, they had to increase individual outdoor activities and they found that in bicycles”, said the vice president.

“All this has helped to boost the industry and increase this acceleration in demand, which will have continued growth.”

In the same way as bicycles, the Brazilian Association of Electric Vehicles (ABVE) states that growth has been constant.

According to the entity, sales of electrified vehicles in Brazil had the best month of February in the historical series, which is equivalent to an increase of 147% over February 2021 (1,389) and 34% over January 2022 (2,558) .

According to the director of Infrastructure at ABVE, Márcio Severine, the demand for electric vehicles has increased over the last three years.

For him, the main factors are the awareness of carbon emissions, which has become a daily issue, and the increase in fuel prices, which has driven the market.

“When you start comparing the price of an electric car, you need to look at the total cost of the operation. That is, when you add taxes, maintenance costs, the price of the vehicle and fuel, the customer notices that the electrified ones are much more advantageous”, he points out.

“In an ordinary car, with a full tank, you spend about R$250. But with electric, its cost drops to around R$15. So the difference in total cost impacts the final result.”

For Gazola, the rise in the cost of gasoline will also help boost bicycle sales.

“The increase in fuel is recent, but it is another factor that will affect the market in a positive way. It all depends on distance and displacement. For shorter commutes, people have started embracing bicycles, and this is going to be a constant movement,” he says.

ABVE’s director of Infrastructure believes that the country needs to stimulate the sector so that there is an increase in the production of electric vehicles.

Although the country does not have a great structure in this area, Severine says that Brazil has great growth potential and can surpass other countries.

“These incentives would be important for the industry to make the necessary investments to act strongly in the electricity sector in Brazil. Today, most vehicles are imported. So, companies are having a restriction with the vehicles they can bring to Brazil”, says Severine.

“For lack of parts, they will assemble less abroad and will bring less products here. The country has always been an exporter of vehicles, we have a vocation for that. By generating adequate incentives, our country will be able to produce on its own.”

In addition to conventional bicycles, Gazola pointed to the increase in sales of electric bicycles.

The vice president of Abraciclo declared that, even with the most expensive prices, the demand for this means of transport will continue to rise.

“We had a 2% increase in the e-bike segment. The percentage is small, but it is growing much more than the other segments”, he points out.

“This year they have the potential to grow approximately 40% compared to last year, not only because of the interest in a new type of locomotion, but also for the models. The big challenge for the market will be to manufacture electric bicycles that fit in the consumer’s pocket.”

lack of supplies

In the last two years, the industries presented a great lack of inputs. Among the reasons are the pandemic itself, which caused many basic industries to close, and the rise in the dollar that made imported inputs more expensive and made the international market more attractive.

Faced with the great demand, Abraciclo said that the lack of raw material hampered the growth rate in the bicycle business. Gazola says that even with the problem of not having parts, there are indications of great growth for this year.

“We didn’t grow as much because of the lack of inputs, which was the main bottleneck for the resumption of our segment. Since last year we have suffered with the supply of parts and components, but we managed to partially solve this”, said the vice president.

“This year we started with a better balance, but we are in the period of low demand. In the second semester is when we actually start to attend larger events. So the numbers will start to rise from the middle of the year.”

According to Severine, electrified sales are growing exponentially, double digits a year.

The market forecast, according to him, is an 80% increase in production for 2022, already counting on the lack of inputs. However, this lack of parts prevents the sector from growing even more.

“This shortage has been bad for the market, even for electric vehicles, whose main input today is the car battery. This can become a brake. We would be getting fewer cars than the demand we have today. Growth will be limited by the supply of vehicles, not by demand”, says the director.

Source: CNN Brasil

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