Rows of gleaming white electric vehicles, most bearing Chinese badges, now line the docks of the newly built Port of Chancay, north of Lima, Peru. Just a year ago, this spot was dotted with seaside restaurants, but today it stands at the epicenter of a dramatic shift in South America’s automotive landscape. Chinese automakers—BYD, Geely, Chery, and GWM among them—are rapidly gaining ground against traditional brands, reshaping the region’s electric vehicle (EV) market with affordable, accessible models and a relentless export drive.
For Peruvian entrepreneur Luis Zwiebach, the transformation is personal. Back in 2019, Zwiebach flew 4,000 miles to California just to test drive a Tesla Model 3. With no official Tesla importers and Peru’s labyrinthine car-entry regulations, he ended up buying a privately imported vehicle. Charging it, however, proved an adventure of its own. "The car wouldn’t charge because there was no grounding device," Zwiebach told Reuters. "We grabbed a fork, stuck it into the soil to make a ground—and the car charged." That kind of improvisation, once necessary, is slowly becoming a thing of the past as EV infrastructure improves and Chinese brands flood the market.
According to the Peruvian automotive association, hybrid and electric vehicle sales hit a record 7,256 units in the first nine months of 2025—a 44% increase from the previous year. While EVs still represent just a sliver of Peru’s 135,394 new car sales, the momentum is unmistakable. As Zwiebach puts it, "The electric car is doing very well here, more than two new cars are sold every day." That surge in demand has prompted him to expand his renewable energy business to include solar panels, EV charger installations, and regenerative elevators for clients ranging from real estate developers to universities and shopping centers.
Chinese automakers have seized the moment with a multi-pronged approach: aggressive pricing, partnerships with local banks for financing, and models tailored to local tastes. BYD, for example, plans to open its fourth showroom in Lima this year, while Chery and Geely operate over a dozen dealerships across Peru. The appeal is clear—BYD’s battery-electric vehicles start at around $19,000 in Uruguay, making them about 60% the price of a Tesla. "I can buy three Chinese pick-ups, for the price of two traditional brands. That’s a big difference," Uruguayan dealer Federico Guarino told Reuters.
The numbers underscore the scale of the shift. Chinese brands accounted for nearly 30% of all new passenger car sales in the first quarter of 2025 across the region. In Uruguay, BYD is now the third-largest vehicle seller, trailing only Chevrolet and Hyundai, while China’s overall market share there has more than doubled to 22% since 2023. In Chile, Chinese brands controlled 33% of the market by July 2025. These gains are part of a broader trend—EV market penetration across Latin America has more than doubled in a year, reaching approximately 4% overall. Record highs have been set in several countries: 10.6% in Chile (September), 9.4% in Brazil (August), and a remarkable 28% in Uruguay (third quarter).
The rise of Chinese brands isn’t just a matter of price; it’s also about logistics. The completion of the Chinese-built Port of Chancay in 2024 has halved trans-Pacific shipping times, transforming Peru into a regional distribution hub. As Cosco Shipping’s deputy manager Gonzalo Rios explained to Reuters, "Each ship brings 800 to 1,200 vehicles." The company expects 19,000 Chinese cars to pass through the port in 2025 alone. Customs data show that 3,057 cars arrived at Chancay in July, up from 839 in January. Vehicles are then re-exported to neighboring countries—Chile, Ecuador, and Colombia—where demand is soaring. Chery, for instance, is already leveraging this corridor to accelerate deliveries across the continent.
This rapid expansion is not without its critics or complications. In Brazil, where the auto industry is a major employer, industry and labor groups have raised alarms about the influx of Chinese vehicles. Their main concern: rather than investing in local production, Chinese automakers are exploiting temporarily low EV tariffs to ramp up imports at the expense of domestic jobs. In response, the Brazilian government has reinstated import duties on EVs, which are set to rise to 35% by July 2026. As GWM Brazil’s Ricardo Bastos noted, this policy shift is driving companies to invest in local assembly—Great Wall Motors began partial production at a former Mercedes-Benz factory, and BYD started assembling EVs in October 2025 at a former Ford site in Bahia. GWM expects to begin exporting from Brazil by 2027, if not sooner.
Despite these tensions, some see the influx of Chinese vehicles as a boon for consumers and the environment. Government incentives and the availability of affordable models have helped Latin America double its EV penetration rate in just a year. As Martin Bresciani, president of Chile’s automotive business chamber CAVEM, put it, "The Chinese have already demonstrated that they match global standards in quality." The International Energy Agency’s Global EV Outlook 2025 highlights how much of China’s excess production is being shipped to Latin America, the Middle East, and Central Asia, as Chinese brands face fierce competition and price wars at home.
Yet, the transition to electric mobility in South America is not without hurdles. Infrastructure gaps—particularly for long-distance travel—remain a major challenge. "If you want to travel the entire Peruvian coast from Tumbes to Tacna, it’s difficult," Zwiebach admitted. Still, he and others are quick to note the long-term savings: "The car costs less to run and never needs to go to the service garage." Real estate developers are beginning to install chargers as a selling point for high-end properties, and more consumers are attracted by the promise of lower maintenance and operational costs.
Industry insiders suggest that the region’s EV revolution is only just beginning. Chinese brands, having gained legitimacy and scale, are poised for further growth as local assembly operations expand and governments continue to incentivize green technology. Meanwhile, the Port of Chancay stands as a symbol of the new era—no longer just a Peruvian gateway, but a launchpad for the continent’s electric future.
As the sun sets over Chancay’s bustling megaport, it’s clear that the South American car market will never be the same. What was once a sleepy fishing town is now a testament to how quickly global trade, technology, and consumer preferences can reshape entire industries—and perhaps even the way South Americans think about mobility itself.
