Nissan is planning to increase the exports from its Brazilian plant in Resende, Rio de Janeiro, according to local media reports; the company builds the March there and is expected to add production of the Kicks utility vehicle there as well. An undisclosed number for March hatchbacks will reportedly be shipped to Paraguay in March 2016, as part of pilot project. By 2018, the report states that half of the plant's output will be destined for export destinations. The March is scheduled to be exported to Peru, Uruguay and Chile in 2016, with exports to Argentina set to resume in late 2016 and early 2017.
Significance: In Brazil, sales have been plummeting in 2014 and 2015, with ongoing declines forecast for 2016. IHS forecasts that Brazilian sales will decline another 23.1%, with a recovery beginning in 2017, but on a slow trajectory. The decline in local consumption has encouraged automakers and the country's policymakers to look to increase exports. Brazil's efforts to increase exports have included looking to renegotiate the free-trade agreement with Argentina. The efforts have had some effect, as Brazilian exports have increased; the gain so far, however, has not been enough to offset the impact of sales declines. Brazil's production has declined 31% during the year to date (YTD). Production at Renault-Nissan plants in Brazil, which include facilities in São Jose dos Pinhais as well as Resende, declined from 252,824 units in 2014 to 234,872 units in 2015. The automaker's decline appeared less drastic because Resende opened in 2014; the increased production at the new facility (46,477 units in 2015) helped offset a nearly 45,000-unit decline at the São Jose dos Pinhais facility, according to the IHS Automotive production forecast.
