In a meeting with Alckmin, global director revealed plans to export to the U.S.
03/27/2023
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François Dossa — Foto: Gabriel Reis/Valor
Land Rover will cease the production of internal combustion vehicles worldwide by 2030. That means the factory in Itatiaia, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which currently produces only combustion vehicles, will have to be closed if the model line is not changed by then. But the company intends to include Brazil in the production of electric cars and even export them to the United States, according to François Dossa, strategy and sustainability executive director of the Jaguar Land Rover group. He was in Brazil last week in a meeting with the Vice President Geraldo Alckmin to detail these plans.
Mr. Dossa returned from the meeting with Mr. Alckmin enthusiastic. Also minister of development, industry, and trade, Mr. Alckmin showed that he knows and cares about sustainability,” he said. The meeting in Brasília was not the only good memory Mr. Dossa took with him from his week in Brazil. On Saturday, the day before he returned to England, Jaguar won the Formula E (electric cars) race in São Paulo, the first of its kind to be held in Brazil.
Inaugurated in June 2016, Land Rover’s Brazilian factory is a small structure compared to the big car manufacturers. It has just under 500 employees and is dedicated to a niche market, the luxury SUV segment. In 2022, local production will account for 30% of the approximately 700 Land Rover vehicles sold in the country. The idea is to increase local production to 50% of sales by 2023, according to João Oliveira, who took over as head of the company’s operations in Brazil and Latin America eight months ago.
The project in Itatiaia is part of the investments of luxury brands in Brazil, when the Brazilian government, during the automotive program Inovar-Auto, raised the Industrialized Products Tax IPI by 30 percentage points on cars imported by companies without factories in the country. Land Rover was one of the last to join the wave, which also included Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. Mercedes and Audi ceased production. In 2022, Audi resumed operations in Paraná state.
Part of Mr. Dossa’s conversation with Mr. Alckmin was about the group’s desire to see incentives for the production of 100% electric cars contemplated in the next phase of Rota 2030, the federal program to stimulate the sector. The production of electric cars in Itatiaia would be possible, according to Mr. Dossa, with the expansion of production aimed at supplying the U.S. market, where the group does not have a plant.
Toyota, Stellantis, and Volkswagen defend the policy aimed at developing ethanol-powered hybrid cars in the country. The hybrid has two engines — the one that runs on fuel helps charge the other, which is electric. The two alternate depending on use.
“But who can guarantee that the consumer will fill the tank with ethanol?” asks Mr. Dossa. He considers the sugar cane product to be an important ally for decarbonization for a certain time, but is against the development of new generations of vehicles based on this fuel. According to him, electrification is a way of no return. “Some cities already ban the circulation of combustion cars. “When the car replaced the carriage, many said it wouldn’t work. Now, with electrification, Brazil still has the advantage of generating clean energy.
For Mr. Dossa, the concept of sustainability in transportation goes beyond vehicle emissions. It includes energy sources, design, engineering, materials, factories, and even the way the car is sold. The less disposable the car, the more sustainable it is.
“My dream is to sell a car for life, which requires increasingly durable materials. That is sustainability,” he says. In this case, the car would be updated through software upgrades.
For the executive, a sustainable company must have diversity in mind, including the quota system. “This is the way conservative companies like ours can move forward,” he says. By 2026, the Jaguar Land Rover Group aims to increase the number of women in management positions to 26% from the current 12%. Mr. Dossa also points to companies’ involvement in the community. He has participated in organizations dedicated to the education of disadvantaged youth in Brazil.
Brazil has been a big part of the life of the 59-year-old executive, who was born in Nimes, southern France, and holds a degree in business administration. Mr. Dossa lived in the country before, working in banks and the Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi group. He knows the region well, since Itatiaia is next to Resende, where the Nissan plant is located. He helped open the factory in 2014, when he was CEO of the Japanese brand in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro has been his destination for Carnival for years as well.
Although they have been part of the Indian group Tata Motors since 2008, Jaguar and Land Rover have retained their British essence and are now accelerating electrification. Jaguar will stop producing internal combustion models in 2025, earlier than Land Rover. “We have little time to make the transition,” says Mr. Dossa.
When he gave this interview to Valor, the Formula E race in São Paulo had not yet taken place. The executive avoided claiming victory. But the result was better than expected. The Jaguar team came in first and third place, and in a way, it also arrived in second, as the driver used a Jaguar I-Type 6.
But what led the organizers to include Brazil in the Formula E season given that electric cars do not reach 1% of car sales? Mr. Dossa recalls that two cities in emerging markets also made their ePrix debuts in the rounds preceding São Paulo — Hyderabad, India, and Cape Town, South Africa. “You have to prepare your mind for the change,” he says.
Sourcer: Valor International