GM Brazil
Written by Bill Bowman
General Motors do Brasil, S.A. was founded in 1925 and Chevrolet assembly began in October of that year. About 25 vehicles per day were produced in San Paulo. In 1930, an assembly plant was opened in São Caetano.
During World War II, except for vehicles produced for the Brazilian armed forces, imports of vehicle components were virtually stopped. Following World War II, a major expansion program was begun, which included a new assembly plant with a capacity of 15 units per hour, a new finished car and parts warehouse and office building.
In 1948, GM do Brasil produced its first bus. In 1949, operations moved to a new plant. In 1951, production of Frigidaire refrigerators began and over 2 million were produced before production ceased in 1979. In 1956, construction of a foundry and engine plant began in São José dos Campos. The first Chevrolet truck produced under the vehicle-manufacturing program came off the production line in June 1957. In December, 1958, the engine plant in São José dos Campos, although not completely finished, delivered the first Chevrolet engine machined in Brazil. In 1968, GMB’s first locally built passenger car, the Chevrolet Opala was introduced. In 1974, the Cruz Alta proving grounds were open. Also in 1974, GM Terex do Brasil began producing earth-moving equipment. The Terex operation was sold in 1980.
Detroit Diesel Allison do Brasil began manufacturing diesel engines in a new plant in São José dos Campos in 1975 but in 1979, the plant was converted to automotive engines in order to meet increasing vehicle demands. In 1980, a $500 million, four year expansion program began, followed in 1985 with a second $500 million four year plan. By this time the entire product line was offered with alcohol fueled engines. In 1991, another five year $1 billion plan was announced to expand facilities and add a new line of passenger cars. Also a new $80 million parts plant opened in Piracicaba. In the late 1990’s a new plant in Gravatai was started as part of a $3.6 billion project. The plant was designed to showcase a new line of small cars built with new production methods and was opened in 2000. In 2003, with the introduction of the 1.8-liter Flex-Power engine, Flex Fuel cars accounted for 3% of GMB’s production, a rate that jumped to 25% in 2004; to 50% in 2005; to 95% in 2006. Today, every single GM car produced in Brazil is a Flex Fuel vehicle.
In 2007, GM announced it was investing $500 million in operations in Argentina and Brazil to create a new small vehicle and to expand the GM technology center in Brazil. In the first half of 2007, Brazil sales increased 18% compared to 2006.
In April 2008, GM announced it would invest $200 million to build an engine and components plant in Brazil. The plant, to be located in Joinville, will have the capability to produce 120, 000 engines and 50,000 cylinder heads per year. The plant will begin production in the fourth quarter of 2009 and employ 500 people. GM sold a record 499,000 vehicles in Brazil in 2007, up more than a fifth from 410,000 units in 2006.
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