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With the EU’s EV mandate up for debate and the politicisation of electric vehicles casting doubt on the American EV market, the global outlook for EV uptake seems, at first glance, murky.
However, if we look more broadly at the global landscape, the race to electrify is only just beginning. In Latin America, EV adoption is steadily growing thanks to a huge influx of Chinese models from automakers such as Geely and BYD.
These Chinese models retail at around 60% of the price of a Tesla or an EV from legacy manufacturers such as Toyota and Kia.
EV adoption in Latin America, including Mexico and Central America, doubled in 2024 to around 4% and has continued to steadily climb. The International Energy Agency, in its Global EV Outlook 2025, attributed this success to government incentives and the relative affordability of Chinese brands.
BYD leads electric car sales in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay, and has recently carved out a considerable foothold in Argentina — the only Latin American country where imports from other regions still outweigh those from Chinese automakers.
Chinese success in the region can be attributed to gradually improving EV infrastructure and the adaptability of Chinese manufacturers, who have worked alongside local dealerships to offer competitive vehicles tailored to regional tastes; in Brazil, for example, BYD has launched the SONG PRO COP30, designed to run on biofuels derived from locally grown sugar cane.
Brazil continues to be the front-runner in EV uptake in the Latin American market, with Mexico following in second position. Peru is making significant headway following last year’s opening of the Port of Chancay, north of Lima, which has cut trans-Pacific shipping times for Chinese vehicles in half. In Chile, the story is much the same; in the first quarter of 2025, the EV market saw 126% growth.
Martin Bresciani, president of Chile’s automotive business chamber CAVEM, spoke on the success of Chinese manufacturers, saying:
“The Chinese have already demonstrated that they match global standards in quality.”
Uruguay represents another country that has firmly embraced Chinese models with Chinese market shares more than doubling in the country since 2023- now at 22%.
Although EVs make up a relatively small slice of the entire automotive market in Latin and Central America, the steady growth of sales remains a reason for optimism in the context of global electrification efforts.
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