Latin America’s Automotive Market maintains post-pandemic momentum growing 1.1% to 5 million units sold. EV segment climbs to a 2% share, as tax breaks stimulate demand in key markets.
Medium-Term Market Trend
The Latin American market is the 4th largest sub-regional market in the world, reporting 4.9 million sales in 2023 (+4.1%). It includes sales from 41 countries but is heavily influenced by the largest countries Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
Diving into the past, yearly sales have fluctuated in the 5-6 million range from 2010 to 2020, with the current all time high set in 2013 at 6.5 million registrations.
In 2020 the pandemic hit the region hard, cutting volume by 26.7% and bringing registrations down to the 10 year low at 4.1 million. Following the pandemic the market has shown strong signs of recovery boasting a 3 year year positive string, with sales in 2023 closing just below the 5 million mark.
Market Trend and Outlook
Latin America’s economy posted moderate gains in 2024, with GDP expanding 2.1% as external demand buoyed commodity exports and firms ramped up nearshoring investments. However, fiscal strains in key markets, including Mexico and Argentina, kept pressure on policymakers, with widening budget deficits complicating growth trajectories.
The region’s performance remained uneven, with Argentina’s economy shrinking 3.8%, while Mexico eked out a 1.2% gain. Brazil led the pack, notching 3% growth, as resilient consumption and investment offset fiscal pressures.
Latin America’s EV market climbs to a 2% share as key markets post triple-digit gains. Tax breaks on purchases fuel demand in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
BYD safely retains market leadership at 70% share, as gap with competitors continues do widen. Volvo reports record sales becoming the second most sold brand in the region. Jac and MG lose ground as sales collapse 46% and 12% respectively.
Looking at the broader Latin American vehicle market, the post-pandemic recovery continues as sales grow for the 4th consecutive year to 5.0 million (+1.1%). Despite surpassing the 5 million mark, last recorded in 2019, the market still remains far from it’s all-time high.
Brazil was still the major market in Latin America, holding 49.5% market share with 2.48 million cumulative sales (+13.9%). Mexico followed in second with 1.49 million new registrations so far and a 9.9% increase in year-on-year volume, securing a market share of 29.8%.
Lagging far behind in third place was Argentina, with only 384,401 new registrations, dipping 8.1% in year-to-date volume. Chile followed in 4th with 292,463 sales (-5.1%).
Colombia ranked in 5th with 187,396 new registrations (+8.7%), followed by Uruguay -up 2 spots- at 61,804 (+8.1%) and Costa Rica -up 3 spots- with only 31,500 cumulative sales (+4.8%).
Panama -up 4 spots- ranked in 8th with 29,633 new registrations (+4.1%), followed by Dominican Republic -up 4 spots- at 19,867 sales (+4.4%) and Guadeloupe -up 4 spots- closing the top 10 with 17,002 new vehicles (+0.8%).
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for the top 10 countries.
