Brazil is presenting itself with confidence at the Hannover Messe, the world’s largest trade fair for the manufacturing industry, which opens on April 20 in Hanover, Germany.
“We want to show that Brazil is not only an agricultural superpower, but also a global player in industrial technology,” said Patricia Gomes of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.
He explained that the goal is to position Brazil as a leader in green, digital and renewable energy and flexible industries such as electric mobility.
Focus on energy and technology
Brazil is already a regional leader in Latin America when it comes to expanding electric mobility and smart charging infrastructure.
Last year, 224,000 electric vehicles were registered in the country – an increase of almost 40% over the previous year.
This alone means that Brazil addresses one of the most important topics of the trade fair: energy efficiency and energy technology.
“Given the current geopolitical situation, topics such as energy supply, infrastructure resilience and alternative energy solutions are gaining additional relevance,” trade fair spokesperson Onuora Ogbukagu told DW. “Energy security is increasingly coming into focus.”
Mercosur free trade agreement raises hopes
Nearly 4,000 companies from 60 countries, including Amazon Web Services, Bosch, Siemens, SAP, Microsoft, Huawei and Accenture, are exhibiting at the industry showcase in Hanover.
Brazil alone is represented by more than 300 companies.
The EU-MERCOSUR free trade agreement between the European Union and South American countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay is expected to provide an additional boost to the fair.
After more than 25 years of negotiations, the agreement is scheduled to enter into provisional force on May 1.
“The Mercosur agreement can be expected to strongly benefit mechanical engineering,” said Yvonne Heidler, trade expert at VDMA, the German engineering federation.
“German machinery exports to the four Mercosur countries could rise from the current €3.5 billion ($4.1 billion) to €5 billion by 2040,” Heidler told DW.
Iran’s economic outlook was surrounded by clouds
However, these expectations were in sharp contrast to the difficult global economic environment.
According to a business climate survey conducted by the Ifo Institute, 78.6% of German companies reported in March that they were struggling to assess their future business growth.
The war in and around Iran has “significantly increased uncertainty in the German economy,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, the institute’s survey chief. The uncertainty is particularly evident in the industry, where 87.7% of respondents said they were struggling to assess the future.
Economic forecasts for this year are modest in Germany and around the world.
Of the five largest economies – the United States, China, Germany, Japan and India – only India has recently recorded growth above 6%. China is still aiming for growth of about 4.5% this year, although its economy has slowed compared to previous years.
Brazil is not among the major growth drivers. According to the country’s central bank, economic growth is expected to reach only 1.6% in 2026, down from 2.3% last year.
At the same time, many economists cautioned that the forecast remains highly uncertain due to the conflicts in the Middle East and their impact on prices and consumer behavior. Still, there are bright spots.
‘Being a little Brazilian’ in Germany
Brazil’s electric mobility sector is experiencing strong growth, benefiting many companies.
These include German technology group Harting, which specializes in connectivity and charging equipment; SEW Eurodrive, the global leader in drive technology; And Brazilian company WEG, which manufactures electric motors and charging systems and is proudly showcasing them in Hanover.
Brazil’s largest machine tool maker, ROMI, also bucked the trend with growth of nearly 8% in 2025. What’s even more surprising is that, following ROMI’s acquisition of German machine tool manufacturer Burckhardt+Weber in 2012, two of the company’s 13 production sites are now located in Germany.
“I’m sure our colleagues in Germany will enjoy being a little Brazilian,” ROMI head Luiz Casciano Rosolen told DW.
Referring to Burckhardt+Weber, he said that in Brazil, the company is proud to be part of the ROMI team, “the Porsche of machine tool manufacturers.”
Cassiano Rosolen will be in attendance when Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz officially open the industrial trade fair.
The two leaders meet at the COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil in November 2025.
It was a short trip as Merz spent only 21 hours in the city during the stormy journey and upon returning to Berlin he made disparaging remarks about it.
Now tiny Hanover will likely face the critical eye of the larger Brazilian delegation.
But the Brazilian president will likely spend more than 21 hours in the city, giving the two leaders more time to work on improving German-Brazilian relations.
This article was originally written in German.