Story ID: 547_Embraer market.doc
Phenom Leads Embraer’s Sales Charge
By: David Donald
Caption: Despite a slow year in Brazil, Embraer believes its overall market share is growing again.
Word Count: 435
Despite some stutters in the global market, especially in the BRIC region that includes Brazil, Embraer Executive Jets continues to post good sales. By the end of June, the combined fleet had climbed to 788 aircraft operating in more than 50 countries. Sales for the first half of this year totaled 49. And, at a press conference in São Paulo on Monday, Embraer reported that market share in the business jet sector is also climbing again, reaching 17.6 percent in 2013, a figure that is almost back to the company’s 2010 high.

Leading the way in terms of numbers is the Phenom 300 light jet, which Embraer claims hit the number one spot as the most delivered business jet worldwide in 2013, and has maintained that position in the first half of this year. In its own light jet sector, the Phenom 300 took 47 percent of the market in 2013, and has increased that to a 56 percent market share in the first six months of 2014 leaving its nearest competitor (CitationJet CJ4) with 23 percent, according to Embraer’s figures.

Embraer is under no illusion regarding the U.S. market remaining the most important for the future, and the one that drives the speed of recovery for business aviation. The Brazilian manufacturer forecasts a worldwide market of 9,235 new business jets worth $265 billion over the decade from 2015-2024, and the U.S. accounts for around half of that figure, with Europe, Middle East and Africa accounting for 26 percent.

Here in Latin America, Embraer forecasts sales of 850 new aircraft worth $16 billion, and the great majority will be sold in Brazil, where sales of 540 to 560 jets worth $9.4 billion are predicted. The forecast market for Mexico is 110 to 140 aircraft, with other Latin American countries accounting for a further 130 to 150. Brazil has just surpassed Mexico in terms of business jet numbers to claim the world’s second-place spot and will rapidly outstrip its rival if Embraer’s forecast proves correct.

However, Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Marco Tulio Pellegrini said his sales force has seen sluggish activity in Brazil so far this year. It attributes this to the joint distractions of the country’s election campaign (which ends in October) and the World Cup soccer tournament. While Brazil’s southeast region continues to dominate the country’s business aviation fleet, others are expanding too. For instance, the fleet in the midwest region has grown sixfold since 2008. Analysis of fleet ownership shows that Embraer’s aircraft are distributed around a wide range of industry sectors in Brazil, with the largest sector (manufacturing) only accounting for 14 percent of the fleet total.