Latin American Auto Industry

Perhaps symbolising the potential for Chinese EV sales to Brazil, the world’s largest car-carrying ship made its maiden voyage to the Brazilian port of Itajaí in May 2025, carrying the equivalent of 20 football fields’ worth of back-to-back new cars. In four trips in the first half of this year BYD delivered around 22,000 vehicles. Reactions have been somewhat mixed, with many Brazilians cheering what they see as the arrival of a new wave of affordable zero-emission vehicles. However, others expressed fears that cheap imports may end up weakening Brazilian auto production and causing future job losses.