15 Anuário Yearbook ABLA 2014 In 2014 I celebrated 25 years in the car rental business. I am happy that the sector ismature, that some companies in the industry have even gone public, and that corporate governance and ISO certificates are becoming common for many of our businesses. The professional training available in the sector, which now includescoursesandprintedmaterialsaboutourbusiness, didnotexistuntil recently.Globalizationnotonlyof themodels, but alsoof international standards, ishere to stay! Our sector follows the revolution seen in vehicle models and is sensitive to consumer trends. Recently, for example, certain medium-sized pick-ups overtook compact models in sales, and this has been felt by our companies as a reflection of the consumer market. Who knew, 25 years ago, we would have so many different models to rent? And we would have so many automakers in Brazil? But not everything is perfect ... Recent headlines about the automotive sector have shown that the car sales are down to12-month lowsand stocksareat their highest since 2008, and so on. The good news is that a mature industry like ours is prepared to get through the storm. If the difficulties of the economic scenario exist on the one side, on the other we have the spread of the industry and its growth, albeit moderate, ensuring profitability and companies’ futures. It’s time to manage better, reduce costs, manage with professionalism and increase profits, since costs have risen and the scenario is uncertain. Few of us remember the 1950 WorldCup inBrazil and the recent protests in thestreets raise thequestionofwhat there legacy of this 2014WorldCupwill be. Full of hope but also of capacity, the sector shows that it has the fleet available, its services have improved and that the size of the event does not frighten the businesses! So, with its positive transformation of the sector, I think 2013 was a year of victories. No matter howmuch margins andvolumes fell, therewascontinuedgrowthand thesector’s importance increased, as didBrazil’s vehicle output. With that, the true role of the rental companies has been consolidated. It is a showcase for manufacturers on the domestic market, providing users with an experience of the vehicles they might buy, distributing vehicles and contributing to the transport, outsourcing public and private fleets, and funding progress. It helps Brazil move! The true role of rental companies
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