E, nel mentre, EMB sta pensando di sviluppare un concorrente del B737 e A320, in linea con il tentativo cinese chiamato C919.
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Brazilian planemaker Embraer on Wednesday played down a report that it is planning to develop a new jet to compete directly with best-selling Boeing and Airbus models, saying it has no plans for a major cycle of spending.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the world's third-largest planemaker is exploring options for a new narrowbody jet to break out of its regional niche and "compete head-on" with the 737 MAX and A320neo in the busiest part of the market.
Internal studies have determined that the company has the technological know-how and manufacturing capability to develop a next-generation narrowbody, which would be its first in that larger segment, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
"Embraer certainly has the capability to develop a new narrowbody aircraft. However, we have a young and very successful portfolio of products developed in recent years, and we are really focused on selling those products and making Embraer bigger and stronger," an Embraer spokesperson said.
"We don't have any plan for a sizeable cycle of capex at this time," the spokesperson added.
Embraer competes in the regional jet market with its E2 family for 90 to 120 passengers, placed underneath the 150-seat-plus market dominated by the transatlantic duopoly of MAX and A320neo jets and which China recently entered with its C919.
Its main competitor is the 110-130-seat A220 which Airbus bought from Bombardier in 2018 after the Canadian manufacturer abandoned plans to compete at the lower end of the jet market.
Embraer was for years linked to the future development plans of Boeing and industry strategists say it once planned to develop a pair of small planes, while Boeing focused on a trio of compatible of jets to replace the larger 737 family.
In 2018, after Airbus bought the Bombardier CSeries programme for a dollar and renamed it A220, Embraer agreed to sell its own commercial aerospace arm to Boeing. But the deal collapsed two years later, leaving Embraer without a partner.
Since then, Embraer has sketched out a standalone strategy and vowed to remain independent, though Brazil's previous government suggested China could be a potential new partner.
Industry sources have also cited India as a potential partner for future airplane projects.
The WSJ report said Embraer's plans are in their infancy but the company has been laying the groundwork, including assessing potential payload and range needs for a new jet.
Planemakers invest billions of dollars into developing new fuel-efficient highly complex jet models, which can take years to enter the market.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun has said the company will focus on cash rather than developing a successor to the 737 MAX, but some analysts have called on Boeing to start afresh with a new design to smooth its recovery from a series of crises.