German premium-car maker BMW AG (BMW.XE) Friday welcomed the
framework conditions laid out by the Brazilian government for the
auto industry and will take the next step towards building a plant
in the country.
"We're planning to hand over our investment plan to the
Brazilian government," BMW spokesman Mathias Schmidt said,
confirming remarks made by Brazilian Trade Minister Fernando
Pimentel on a radio program late Thursday.
This year, BMW had put its Brazil investment plans on hold until
details of the country's new auto industry tax regime were hammered
out, saying it wanted to re-evaluate the financial viability of the
scheme.
The government at the end of last year effectively boosted the
tax on imported cars by 30 percentage points when it increased the
tax on all cars sold, but exempted auto companies with Brazilian
factories.
On Sept. 27, BMW sales chief Ian Robertson told reporters at the
Paris auto show a decision for a new plant in Brazil could be made
in the next few weeks.
Mr. Schmidt declined to comment on the expected timeframe for a
final decision or financial details.
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