The eight-hundred-and-seventeen-car-per-month economy
As Yordano would say, “no queda nada”
Our friends over at the Latin American Herald Tribune have an alarming article on Venezuela’s squalid car market. GM has written down $400 million from its books, courtesy of Maduro’s “non-devaluation,” which wiped out their profits for the entire sub-continent … and then some. Ford also saw their profits in the region wiped out by the government’s … well, let’s not sugar-coat this – it’s theft.
The money quote,
“Ford is only operating 3 days a week and Toyota and Chrysler have already suspended Venezuela operations… In February, Venezuela — a country of 28 million — had only 817 new car sales, according to Cavenez, the Venezuelan Automotive Association. 811 of those cars were produced in Venezuela, and the other 6 were imports.”
Which only makes me wonder – why are GM and Ford still in the country? If they continue losing money there, at some point they will have to decide whether to stay or not.
The only explanation is that they expect change. Whatever form that change takes is a mystery.
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