Chinese automakers have launched a “second wave of entrepreneurship” centered on localized production, technological research and development, and supply chain integration.
Editor’s Note:
Behind China’s record-breaking trade surplus, the automotive industry has become a crucial growth engine and a key driver of structural upgrading.
In 2025, China’s annual automobile exports are projected to exceed 7 million units, maintaining its position as the world’s largest exporter for the third consecutive year.
Moreover, this wave has long transcended simple product exports, entering a new phase of “ecosystem globalization.”
From breaking through standards in the European market to deepening localization in Southeast Asia, from building factories in Latin America to deploying intelligent driving technologies in the Middle East, Chinese automakers are expanding their global footprint with diversified strategies.
This is not only a leap in industrial scale but also a comprehensive export of technology, standards, and business models. Phoenix Auto’s 2025 year-end special focuses on new paths to global expansion, technological breakthroughs, and new market challenges, documenting China’s strength in reshaping the global automotive industry landscape.
As a major destination for Chinese automobile exports, Latin America has become an indispensable “second growth curve” in China’s automobile export structure.
According to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Latin American countries will occupy two of the top ten spots in China’s total automobile exports in November 2025. Mexico ranks first with 90,000 vehicles exported in a single month, while Brazil ranks fourth with 29,000 vehicles.
Forecasts indicate that Chinese automobile exports to the Latin American market are expected to surge by 33% to 540,000 vehicles in 2025.
Beyond sales figures, the localization efforts of Chinese automakers in the Latin American market are even more noteworthy.
From BYD’s new factory in Bahia, Brazil, where the first vehicle rolled off the production line in July (an investment of 5.5 billion reais with a planned annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles); to Great Wall Motors’ acquisition of the former Mercedes-Benz Brazilian plant, which was completed and put into operation in August; and Geely Automobile’s joint venture with Renault, planning to localize production in Brazil by 2026… major Chinese automakers are accelerating their “localization” through new factories, channel expansion, joint ventures, and talent development, deeply participating in the restructuring and “reindustrialization” of the local automotive industry chain.
It can be said that the Latin American market has transformed from an important “potential market” into a strategic hinterland for “deep localization” in the global landscape of Chinese automobile exports.
Faced with policy guidance exemplified by the “MOVER Plan” in core markets like Brazil and increasingly stringent trade barriers, Chinese automakers have decisively abandoned the past model primarily focused on simple trade exports, launching a “second wave of entrepreneurship” centered on localized production, technological research and development, and supply chain integration.
From the “backyard” of gasoline-powered cars to the “new continent” of new energy vehicles
Amid the global automotive industry’s shift towards electrification and intelligentization, Latin America is transforming from a “backyard” of traditional gasoline-powered vehicles into one of the fastest-growing “new continents” for new energy vehicles.
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) “Global Electric Vehicle Outlook 2025” report, Latin America has become a new hub for global electric vehicle sales growth.
Data shows that in the third quarter of 2025, electric vehicles accounted for 28% of the new car market in Uruguay, a record high. Chile and Brazil also achieved record monthly penetration rates of 10.6% and 9.4% in September and August of the same year, respectively. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, by 2028, new energy vehicles will account for 10% to 20% of new passenger vehicle sales in Latin America.
For the Chinese automotive industry, which has a first-mover advantage in electrification, the explosive growth in demand for new energy vehicles in the Latin American market undoubtedly provides a window of opportunity to reshape the market landscape.
The sales growth confirms this assessment: Chinese brands dominate the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market in Latin America.
According to data from the Latin American Automobile Dealers Association, electric vehicle sales in the region reached 412,000 units in 2024, with pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales increasing by a staggering 139.3% and 156.1% year-on-year, respectively.
A more crucial structural change is that 51% of these new cars sold were from Chinese brands.
This trend accelerated in 2025. According to the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, the rise of Chinese brand vehicles in the Brazilian market is remarkable.
Data from K. Lume Consulting and Bright Consulting shows that from January to August this year, Chinese brand vehicles accounted for 11% of total passenger car sales in Brazil. It is projected that total sales of Chinese brand vehicles will exceed 260,000 units in 2025, with BYD once holding a market share of over 92% in the Brazilian pure electric vehicle market.
In July 2025, BYD’s monthly sales in Brazil approached 10,000 vehicles, entering the top ten passenger car brands in the country for the first time, demonstrating that Chinese new energy vehicle brands have transformed from a “supplementary role” to one of the mainstream choices.
In 2025, the number of Chinese automakers venturing into Latin America continued to expand, evolving from a few early pioneers to a multi-tiered structure dominated by leading domestic brands.
In terms of export volume and brand influence, Chery, BYD, SAIC Motor (including MG), Changan, Geely, and Great Wall Motors remained the main forces driving Chinese exports to Latin America.
Emerging players and technology-backed automakers accelerated their expansion in Latin America. Some brands adopting a “channel cooperation + vehicle export” model leveraged local dealer networks to rapidly expand, achieving initial brand launches in markets such as Mexico, Chile, and Colombia.
The rapid advance of Chinese automakers is reshaping the market structure that has remained largely unchanged in Latin America for decades. Traditional giants such as Volkswagen, GM, and Fiat, with their strong local supply chains, political influence, and brand recognition, still hold a dominant position, but are feeling unprecedented pressure.
For example, some traditional European and American forces, together with local automakers, have been lobbying governments to accelerate the increase of import tariffs, strengthen localization requirements, and promote the environmental advantages of ethanol fuel throughout its entire life cycle in order to counter the impact of Chinese electric vehicles.
From “product export” to “ecosystem export”
If Chinese automakers’ expansion into the European market is a crucial battle for brand advancement, then the Latin American market is an endurance race focused on deep localization.
For a long time, Latin American countries have built a high-barrier market environment of “market access in exchange for investment” through complex tax systems and ever-changing trade policies.
In 2025, the Brazilian government officially launched a new automotive industry policy centered on the “Green Mobility and Innovation Plan,” deeply linking tax incentives with carbon emissions throughout the entire lifecycle, local R&D investment, and production.
Meanwhile, import tariffs on new energy vehicles have gradually recovered from their low levels and are planned to rise to 35% by 2027.
This series of policy measures sends a clear signal: “To share in market dividends, deep localization investment in technology, capital, and the industrial chain is essential.”
It is precisely this combination of high barriers to entry and high potential that compels Chinese automakers to engage in the most in-depth overseas expansion practices.
Compared to their strategies in Southeast Asia, primarily focused on assembly plants (KD model), or in Europe, prioritizing brand and channel development, Chinese automakers in Latin America, especially Brazil, have opted for a larger-scale, more integrated model encompassing full-process manufacturing, local R&D, and even ecosystem co-construction.
This makes Latin America an undeniable “deep water zone” for testing the globalization capabilities of the Chinese automotive industry, and its successful experiences will serve as a “model” for other complex markets.
BYD is the most resolute implementer of the “investment for market access” strategy, becoming a representative of China’s full-industry chain ecosystem layout in the Latin American market.
On July 1, 2025, BYD held a ceremony to mark the production of its first vehicle at its passenger car plant in Camassari, Bahia, Brazil, signifying a crucial step forward in BYD’s localization manufacturing in Latin America.
The plant, from the signing of the agreement to the production of the first vehicle, took only 15 months, with a total investment of approximately RMB 7.1 billion, a planned annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, and is expected to create nearly 20,000 jobs.
BYD is advancing the construction of passenger vehicle and battery factories in Brazil, building an integrated layout of “vehicles + batteries + public transportation electrification solutions,” coupled with an increasingly dense sales and service network, forming a relatively complete new energy ecosystem.
At the product level, models such as the Yuan PLUS, Seagull, and Song PLUS continue to rank among the top in their respective segments in markets like Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Their performance across both pure electric and plug-in hybrid technologies allows them to cover diverse needs, from ride-hailing vehicles to family cars.
Great Wall Motors, through the acquisition of the former Mercedes-Benz factory, has established a high-starting-point localization base. This factory, scheduled to be completed and put into operation in August 2025, will become Great Wall Motors’ third largest full-process manufacturing center globally, with a total investment reaching 10 billion reais by the early 2030s. Initially, it will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 vehicles and plans to produce “ethanol plug-in hybrid” models adapted for the Brazilian market.
Great Wall Motors’ success hinges on its deep technological adaptation, such as its development of a proprietary flexible fuel (Ethanol PHEV) technology specifically for the widely used sugarcane ethanol fuel in Brazil.
This allows models like the Haval H6 hybrid to break through price ceilings and compete with luxury brands, achieving a crucial leap for Chinese brands from “cost-effectiveness” to “technology premium.”
Geely and Chery are pursuing localization in Latin America through flexible cooperation models. Geely and Renault have formed a joint venture to produce new models based on Geely’s advanced platform in Brazil.
Chery, on the other hand, is consolidating its production capacity in Brazil while actively exploring cooperative production opportunities with Renault using its factories in Colombia and Argentina.
This “asset-light” or “resource-sharing” model allows for quick access to partners’ established networks and production capacity, reducing upfront risks and investment pressures, and accelerating market penetration.
