Brazilian automotive production rose by 22.8% year-on-year in December 2020, amid stronger export figures, national carmakers' association Anfavea said on Friday January 8.
Vehicle output totaled 209,296 units in the last month of 2020, up from 170,504 units a year before. Volumes, however, were 12.1% lower than 238,200 units in November.
Full-year production in 2020 was 2.01 million units, a 31.6% drop from 2.94 million units in the previous year, after restrictions to fight Covid-19 first closed the majority of producing plants and later enforced social distancing, seriously reducing productivity.
According to Anfavea, carmakers in the country have capacity for around 5 million units per year. This meant that roughly 60% of capacity was idle during 2020. For 2021, the association expected 2.52 million units in output, or 25% growth.
"We were...