Troller, a Brazilian off-road vehicle manufacturer, is betting on a new market niche: company vehicles. In January this year, it launched Pantanal, a company pickup truck.
Troller produces the T4 Jeep as well, a 4-wheel-drive vehicle that offers the comfort and convenience of a recreational vehicle. Both models can be seen at the Automobile Trade Show, taking place in São Paulo.
The company has also established a new division, called Troller Soluções, designed to provide customized versions of the two models for companies and government agencies.
The automobiles can be adapted for several purposes, from ambulances to electric company vehicles, as is the case with the Pantanal pickup trucks, which have been acquired by the electric power company of the State of Paraná (Copel).
"The Pantanal boasts one of the highest payload capacities in its category. It can handle up to 1,500 kilograms," says the Commercial Manager of Troller, Pedro Tadeu Resende.
Prices for the pickup truck range from 65,000 reais (US$ 30,000) to 79,000 reais (US$ 37,000), depending on the configuration. The full T4 version costs a little over 85,000 reais (US$ 40,000). Both vehicles come equipped with MWM International 163-horsepower motors.
Based in the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceará, Troller manufactures approximately 90 units of the T4 and 20 units of the Pantanal per month. The company employs 600 people and should end the year with 100 million reais (US$ 46.6 million) in revenues.
Exports used to play a more important role in the company’s business. Presently, Troller ships only 15 cars per month to Angola, but in the past it used to sell to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The reason for the decline in foreign sales, according to Resende, is the exchange rate. The excessive appreciation of the Brazilian real against the dollar made Troller vehicles’ prices higher abroad, thus reducing their competitiveness.
Anba – www.anba.com.br
