Brazil is Latin America’s biggest market and the region’s manufacturing prize: BYD, GWM and SAIC are all investing in local production to serve the country and export across South America.

From importer to #1 brand

Brazil is Latin America's biggest market and the region's manufacturing prize. Chinese brands reached around 10–11% of the passenger market in 2025, and BYD's rise has been extraordinary: roughly 112,900 units in 2025, up from about 76,700 in 2024 and just 260 in 2022. In April 2026 BYD became the first Chinese automaker to top Brazil's overall monthly retail brand chart, at nearly 15,000 units. GWM and Caoa Chery are the other two major players. BYD also leads Brazil's EV segment with well over half of it, and its Dolphin Mini (sold as the Seagull elsewhere) became Brazil's #1 retail model in February 2026.

Local production comes online

Two flagship plants opened in 2025. BYD's Camaçari complex in Bahia — a roughly $1 billion (R$5.5bn) conversion of a former Ford plant — began production on July 1, 2025, with 150,000 units a year of capacity, planned to double; the Dolphin Mini is its first local model. GWM's Iracemápolis plant in São Paulo state, a former Mercedes-Benz site, began production on August 15, 2025 with around 50,000 units a year of capacity, aiming to export across Mercosur by 2027.

The tariff clock

Local production is a direct response to a rising tariff schedule. Brazil is phasing out its EV tariff exemption: the BEV import duty rose to 25% in July 2025 and reaches the 35% Mercosur cap in July 2026, with hybrids and PHEVs climbing on similar tracks, and the preferential rate on assembly kits set to expire from January 2027. BYD front-loaded imports — shipping thousands of EVs ahead of tax deadlines — to bridge the gap. Chinese models supplied over 80% of Brazil's EV sales in early 2025, and the country started 2026 at roughly 9.8% electrified market share, with BYD targeting around 250,000 units and 10% of the total market.

Figures are 2025 full-year and early-2026 (sources: company releases, local media, industry trackers).

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