Brazil auto industry raises 2009 sales forecast to 3.1M

Brazil will sell more motor vehicles in 2009 than industry executives previously forecast, the Brazil Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association, Anfavea, said Friday.

Brazil's car makers will sell 3.1 million vehicles, up from an earlier 2009 forecast of 3 million. The figure includes trucks and buses, which make up a smaller portion of sector sales.

Anfavea President Jackson Schneider said that if Brazil sells more than 3 million vehicles in 2009, it will be the fifth-largest car market in the world. Scotiabank Group ranked Brazil fourth in the world in 2009, trailing the U.S., China and Germany, according to its Global Auto Report published Friday.

Already this year, Brazil has sold 2.85 million vehicles, up 8.5% from the same period last year.

Schneider said during the group's monthly press conference in Sao Paulo that "the forecasts are positive and realistic because we expect higher incomes and more consumption in Brazil next year."

For 2010, Anfavea is expecting sales of 3.4 million vehicles, with production of 3.39 million.

Exports are seen rising to $9.2 billion, up from $8.2 billion estimated in 2009.

Schneider said that exports should turn around next year as Brazil's biggest trading partners come out of the credit crisis. Export sales to markets like Argentina and South Africa have increased over the last three months, pushing Anfavea to raise its 2009 export estimate to $8.2 billion from $7.9 billion previously.