Car Production Expected to Plunge 27% in Brazil

Output of new passenger vehicles in Brazil is likely to drop 18% this year, according to industry group ANFAVEA. In April the association predicted a 10% decline.

The group also expects retail sales in the country to fall 21% in 2015 compared with the 13% decline it forecast two months ago. The revised figures describe the worst decline in Brazil's auto industry since 1998.

ANFAVEA says production in Brazil through the first five months of 2015 fell to 1.1 million vehicles from 1.3 million in the same period last year. The group blames the country's credit crunch and tight fiscal policies.