Chinese Car Exports to Brazil Hit Record in First Half
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A tourist takes a photo of an electric car made by Chinese automaker BYD in Salvador, Brazil. Photo: Xinhua
(Poder360) ― Brazil’s imports of Chinese-made automobiles rose to a record in the first half of 2025, with 134,582 vehicles arriving from the Asian nation. The figure represents a 3.6% increase from the 129,933 vehicles imported during the same period in 2024.
Cars from China now account for 62.1% of all vehicles imported into Brazil. The 134,600 cars from China are roughly triple the 40,616 vehicles sourced from Argentina, which was previously Brazil’s top supplier of imported cars until China took the lead in 2024.
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- Brazil imported 134,582 Chinese vehicles in H1 2025, up 3.6% year-over-year, making up 62.1% of auto imports.
- Despite higher volume, the value of Chinese car imports fell 20.6% to $2 billion; all-electric imports dropped 44.4%.
- Brazil reinstated import tariffs (25–30%, rising to 35% by July 2026), mainly reducing electric vehicle demand.
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Who’s Who
- Caixin Global
- Caixin Global is a media outlet that published an article about Brazil's import of Chinese-made automobiles. The article, originally in Portuguese by Poder360, was translated and republished by Caixin Global through a content-sharing agreement.
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What Happened When
- Start of 2024：
- Brazil began a gradual reinstatement of import tariffs on electric and hybrid vehicles after suspending the tax since 2015.
- First half of 2024：
- Brazil imported 129,933 vehicles from China.
- First half of 2024：
- Brazil imported 40,616 vehicles from Argentina, its top supplier until China took the lead in this period.
- First half of 2024：
- Hybrids imported into Brazil totaled 80,465 units (implied by 29% increase to 103,800 in 2025).
- First half of 2024：
- Brazil spent $2.6 billion on imports of Chinese-made automobiles.
- First six months of 2024：
- The total value of imported hybrids and EVs reached $3.4 billion.
- First half of 2025：
- Brazil imported a record 134,582 vehicles from China.
- First half of 2025：
- Chinese vehicles accounted for 62.1% of all vehicles imported into Brazil.
- First half of 2025：
- Brazil imported 20,331 cars from Mexico.
- First half of 2025：
- Brazil imported 103,800 hybrid cars, a 29% increase from 2024.
- First half of 2025：
- Brazil imported 74,315 traditional combustion-engine cars.
- First half of 2025：
- Brazil imported 38,067 all-electric vehicles.
- First half of 2025：
- Imports from China were valued at $2 billion, a 20.6% decrease from the same period in 2024.
- First six months of 2025：
- The total value of imported hybrids and EVs fell to $2.7 billion.
- First six months of 2025：
- The value of EV imports declined 57.7% to $572.7 million.
- First six months of 2025：
- The value of hybrid imports rose 2.7% to $2.15 billion.
- July 13, 2025：
- Article published in Portuguese by Poder360.
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