Chinese carmakers seize a quarter of Brazil's electric market

Chinese carmakers have taken more than a quarter of Brazil's new-vehicle market in the first half of August, a fresh record according to consultancy Bright Consulting, based in Campinas in São Paulo state. In July their share stood at 23.2 percent, Deutsche Welle reported.

The shift is visible far beyond dealership floors. At the port of Montevideo, where a large share of vehicles is trans-shipped to Brazil, managers are running out of space. "Vehicle handling is overloaded," port authority official Mónica Ageitos told Uruguayan portal Ambito.

BYD storms the top five

In Brazil's best-selling ranking for early August, China's BYD placed two models in the top five: the Dolphin with 3,461 units and the Dolphin Mini with 3,221. Ahead of them stood the FIAT Strada (5,441), Hyundai Creta (3,761) and VW Polo (3,548). "Traditional used-car buyers are increasingly switching to new Chinese cars," Bright Consulting wrote.

The trend is squeezing Brazil's used-car market and putting pressure on established European and American plants. According to auto magazine Quatro Rodas, idle or struggling facilities of Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Renault are being bought or negotiated over by Chinese companies. "With the existing infrastructure these are good investments," said Ricardo Bastos, head of Brazil's electric vehicle association ABVE.

A long-planned Chinese strategy

Brazilian economist Paulo Gala of the Fundação Getulio Vargas told DW that the success is the fruit of a long-term Chinese strategy that combined state support, cheap financing and control of the battery supply chain. See more business coverage as Latin America becomes a decisive front in the global EV competition.