Jac Motors denies intention to move from Bahia to Rio.

By Sara Barnuevo, from Bahia Tribune JAC Motors denies any intention to relocate its factory from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro, as former Secretary of Industry and Commerce James Correia allegedly stated. "JAC does not intend to leave Bahia and has not been approached by anyone," assured the automaker's director of corporate affairs in Brazil, Eduardo Pincigher, during the launch of its new model, the JAC T6, in Salvador. According to him, there was only "speculation" by JAC Motors about the possibility of installing a truck factory in Rio, but never a car factory.

Pincigher doesn't hide his frustration with the Bahia state government, which he claims has changed the rules of the game. "Last September, we presented all the requested guarantees. In fact, it was the government's own initiative to announce the release of the funding. That's why we find this new position, which asks for new guarantees, strange," emphasizes the director. "We are working together with Desenbahia and the Finance Secretariat to reach an agreement," Pincigher reassures, before returning to his criticisms.

"The fact is that our land leveling has been ready for months, the construction company has been chosen, the car design is ready, and there are 10 system integrators with signed contracts to be suppliers. Our project is ready. We need what was agreed upon from the first conversations, which is the release of this financing (R$ 120 million) to begin the civil works of the plant," he states. "It's not money given, it's money borrowed and that will be duly repaid over a period agreed upon by both parties," he points out, refuting Governor Rui Costa's claims that the automaker needs to provide guarantees that go beyond a mere handshake.

Asked if JAC Motors has a deadline to wait for the financing to be released, Pincigher said that the automaker is not in a hurry right now. "The delay (in construction) ended up offsetting some losses we would have had if we were inaugurating the factory now," he said, referring to the economic crisis that has led to a sharp decline in car sales in the country. "If construction starts now, the factory would be ready in the second half of next year, when the crisis should begin to be reversed," he considered.

The JAC Motors project has already cost the state government R$ 28 million in land expropriation for the plant, in addition to nearly R$ 100 million in tax incentives for vehicle imports. The JAC project foresees an investment of R$ 1 billion for an annual production of 100 vehicles and the creation of 3,5 direct jobs.