[R-G] Venezuela Limits Car Imports

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5484122.html>
Jan. 24, 2008, 6:33PM
Venezuela Limits Car Imports

By JORGE RUEDA Associated Press Writer
(c) 2008 The Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez's government has decided to
limit foreign car imports this year as Venezuela looks to increase the
number of autos assembled domestically.

"The quota of imports is being reduced so that plants produce more
vehicles in Venezuela, generating employment ... growth and
technology," Finance Minister Rafael Isea said Thursday.

Assembly lines in Venezuela are producing at 50 percent capacity
"because it's much cheaper to import a vehicle than assemble it in
Venezuela," Isea said.

Automakers with plants in the country include Toyota, Ford and General
Motors, as well as a Venezuelan-Iranian joint venture that has begun
to produce small cars.

More than 336,000 cars were sold in Venezuela last year _ an 81
percent increase over 2006 amid steady economic growth, according to
the Venezuelan Automobile Chamber. During the same period, the number
of locally assembled cars fell by 1.3 percent.

Venezuela's Industry and Commerce Ministry issued permits to import
219,000 vehicles, including motorcycles, in 2008 and the Venezuelan
Automobile Chamber expects car sales to fall by 20 percent this year
while local production increases by at least 50 percent.

--
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>