Goodbye, Troller: Ford will end the manufacture of 4×4 jeeps in September and decrees the end of the Brazilian brand. Around 470 factory employees as well as the government of Ceará are taken by surprise

Last Monday (09/08) the multinational Ford, which interrupted its vehicle production and left Brazil at the beginning of the year, decided not to sell the Troller brand and the production rights of its only model, the utility T4, decreeing the end of one of the few and most revered genuinely Brazilian automotive brands. The news surprised the approximately 470 employees of the factory, as well as the government of Ceará, which was following the negotiations, and a businessman from Paraíba whose negotiations to take over the production of the 4×4 jeep were advanced.

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The announcement of the end of Troller comes after months of negotiations with companies interested in buying the brand. Assets such as facilities, equipment and tools are still for sale, but the Troller brand and products are no longer on the table. 

The automaker had factories in Camaçari (BA) and Taubaté (SP), for Ford cars, and in Horizonte (CE), for Troller brand jeeps. Ford's unit in Horizonte manufactures fiberglass parts, welding, application of structural adhesives using robots; it has machines capable of measuring a complete body of the vehicle; it has an assembly line with verification of the vehicle's electronic functions.

Automaker suspends negotiations with buyers

In a note released last Tuesday, the 10th, the Secretariat for Economic Development and Labor of the State of Ceará stated that the company does not comply with what it had agreed in January and that it was “surprised” with the news of the closing of the Troller factory. According to the portfolio, since January, the State and Federal Governments have been following the negotiations, seeking probable buyers.

The secretariat also said that the institutional director of Ford in Brazil, Rogério Goldfarb, informed the head of Sedet, Maia Júnior, by telephone, of the suspension of negotiations, alleging decisions by the American matrix that had hired a company specialized in mergers and acquisitions for the process.

The folder also stated that Ford's decision is to proceed with the sale of Troller without negotiating brand and product design, unlike what was announced in January of this year.

“We will remain firm in the search for understandings so that Ford reflects that this position taken by the matrix is ​​unwanted by us. The Troller brand is not worldwide, it was created by people from Ceará. We hope that the American Ford and the one from Brazil do not harm the development of Ceará and the workers of Ceará”, said Secretary Maia Júnior.

Troller was bought by Ford in 2007

Created in 1995 by Brazilian entrepreneurs, who also developed the jeep later named T4, Troller was bought by Ford in 2007. When it announced the end of vehicle production in the country, in January, the multinational closed its units in Camaçari (BA) and Taubaté (SP) and said he would keep Troller in operation until the last quarter of the year, when he would try to sell it.

The government accompanied the negotiations and hoped that the eventual buyer would maintain the production of the vehicle and the 470 jobs at the plant. There were three interested parties, according to Maia.

Ford Motor disembarks 450 cars at the port of ES and will bring 30 vehicles to Brazil produced in factories abroad

After ceasing to manufacture vehicles and closing its factories in Brazil, automaker Ford Motor starts importing vehicles through the Port of Vitória. Last week, 450 cars disembarked, which arrived in the state by the ship Torrens. It is estimated that approximately 30 cars will arrive in Brazil, via Espírito Santo, per year.

On May 18, the first vehicles of the American automaker arrived at the port of Vitória. Before, Ford brought its cars through Baixada Santista and Bahia.

Now, the Port Terminal of Vila Velha (ES) will be Ford's only gateway to Brazil. According to Log-In Logística, the company responsible for the operation, the complex will receive, annually, around 28 thousand and 30 thousand cars from the American company.

The delivery was accompanied by Governor Renato Casagrande, who also saw the new vehicle storage and handling yard operated by LogIN TVV within the Port of Vitória.

“We came to accompany and celebrate the importance of importing Ford vehicles in Espírito Santo. There will be, in all, around 30 vehicles a year, imported here by the State, in addition to other brands, which are already imported here. This strengthens the economy of Espírito Santo, Vila Velha and also Cariacica. The more capacity to invest, the more capacity to create opportunities for capixabas”, he highlighted.

After Volkswagen, Honda, Audi, Volvo and Renault, Ford Motor boss announces the end of production of combustion engines, gasoline and diesel to focus on electric cars, but does not give a date

After ending vehicle production and leaving the country, the boss of Ford Motor in the Americas, Kumar Galhotra, said that the automaker has full electrification on its radar. The statement is in line with the giants of the automotive industry, such as Volkswagen, Honda, Volvo and Renault, who also recently announced that they have already stopped or will stop the development and production of combustion engines, gasoline and diesel to invest in the manufacture of electric cars.

The American car manufacturer has confirmed to the market that, although it is still a long way off and not knowing when exactly, Ford will be an all-electric brand in the future and will drop combustion engines to meet new carbon emissions standards.

Galhotra said, "I can easily see a point where we would say, 'This is the date when we would be fully electric.'" He added: "We are certainly working on that."