General Motors Co said it would invest US$ 2.7 billion in two Brazilian factories over the next five years, sparing them from a shakeup of the automaker’s operations, a decision hailed by the governor of Brazil’s largest state.
President Donald Trump is escalating his pressure on General Motors, as he calls for the company to reopen an Ohio manufacturing plant.
Automaker General Motors Co is in talks to invest 9 billion reais (US$ 2.5 billion) in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo over the next three years in return for tax incentives, newspaper Valor Economico has reported.
General Motors Brazil unit is in advanced talks with Sao Paulo state to receive tax incentives, the company told public officials and union representatives at a meeting on Tuesday, a few days after telling workers in a memo that it was losing money in the country.
Car and light truck sales in Brazil went up 13.6% in 2018 from the previous year, cementing the industry’s gradual recovery from a deep recession. Brazil was one of the world’s five biggest auto markets until a recent downturn and, despite last year’s growth, numbers remain lower than at their peak in 2012.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday indicated he favours imposing import tariffs to protect the US auto industry, which was rocked by this week's announcement of job cuts at General Motors. In two tweets, the president said that extending tariffs already in place for foreign-built small trucks to the car sector would help domestic manufacturers.
President Donald Trump does not like the news that General Motors would close several plants and cut more some 14,000 jobs. Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Monday afternoon, Trump said he spoke with CEO Mary Barra and told her he wasn't happy with the decision. I told her I'm not happy about it, Trump told reporters.
BMW and Hyundai Motor urged the U.S. not to impose tariffs on auto imports, joining General Motors Co. in pressing their case to the Commerce Department even as a top aide to President Donald Trump dismissed the concerns as “smoke and mirrors.”
Japan's Kobe Steel has increased the number of firms it says have been affected by its data fabrication scandal from 200 to 500, and has also found inappropriate actions relating to nine more products, including falsifying data. Earlier this week, Kobe admitted falsifying quality data on some of its products for up to a decade.
Germany's Volkswagen became the world's biggest-selling vehicle maker in the first half of the year, overtaking Toyota for the first time. VW sold 5.04 million cars between January and June - slightly more than the 5.02 million sold by Toyota.