The only launch of the year of a new vehicle produced in the country was done without acts or tape cuts: with a simple release, the automaker General Motors officially announced it began exporting its new Tracker midsize SUV in Brazil and Colombia, starting this month.
This new locally produced vehicle required an investment of 300 million dollars in the plant that General Motors has in the municipality of Alvear, on the outskirts of Rosario, and is one of the industrial projects that took the longest between its announcement, which took place in October 2017, and the start of series production, in July of this year. the new locator it will be produced simultaneously with the Cruzethe average car that also starts from that plant.
“During the month of September, The first 5,000 units of the Tracker have already been produced, which have begun to be exported to these markets in the region. This vehicle began production in late July after an investment of $ 300 million to expand facilities, including new body, assembly and paint production lines, ”General Motors announced.
It is the first time that it is produced in Argentina a B-segment SUV, also called medium-small.
Since the devaluation of 2001, this type of vehicle has become one of the best sellers in Argentina: The first indication was the launch of the Ford EcoSport, in 2003, which quickly established itself as one of the best-selling vehicles in local dealerships for the next 15 years. It is in this same segment where today the Volkswagen T-Cross and the Brazilian Trackertwo models that were among the 10 most patented until they were affected restrictions on imports due to lack of dollars.
While some of the Tracker’s local production will go to local dealers, the majority will complement this model’s offering within the region.
“80% of the production of this new vehicle is for export and we are working very hard with our entire value chain to achieve it, “said the local branch vice president, Federico Ovejero.
The launch of the Tracker was ready at the end of last year, according to sources in the autoparts sector who today are suppliers of the new trust model of the time. But the growing difficulties in importing auto parts delayed the launch. The conflict with the tire factories did not affect the production itself (the tires are imported from Brazil), but added uncertainty at launch.
The local auto industry has launched few models in recent years, coinciding with a drop in its production to levels less than 500,000 units per year. Strongly specialized in pickups, the most recent launches were a small car (the peugeot 208) and a withdrawal (Renault of Alaska), both in 2020. The most recent was the volkswagen taos, the second SUV produced in the country, behind Toyota’s SW4. The Tracker now joins that small club of local SUVs in the segment cheaper for this type of vehicle.
So far there has been in the government of Alberto Fernández only one announcement of a new investment in the sector, namely the production of a new version, different from the current one, of the Ford Ranger pick-up, for 580 million dollars. The launch of the new model, which will replace the current Ranger, is scheduled for next year. To date, it is the only investment underway in a sector that is more aware of it today the Central Bank authorizes dollars to carry auto parts than in establishing new investments.
Source: Clarin
