Chinese Cars, EVs Finding Big Markets in Latin America
Shut out of competition in North American and European markets, Chinese automakers are finding eager buyers in Latin America. Sales have quadrupled from 2019 to 2023, and aren't slowing down.
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NewsTranscript
00:00In San Antonio, Chile, a delivery of Chinese cars arrives from the other side of the Pacific.
00:07Chinese auto imports are on the rise in Latin America.
00:11In 2019, China sold 2.2 billion U.S. dollars worth of cars to the region.
00:17In the last four years, that figure quadrupled to 8.5 billion.
00:22And more than a quarter of that came from electric vehicle sales.
00:27Unlike in North America and the EU,
00:31where stiff tariffs on Chinese EVs are being used to protect local automakers,
00:36sales to Latin America continue largely unabated.
00:57Latin America doesn't have any major homegrown consumer car brands,
01:02meaning the import market is open and Chinese prices are attractive.
01:14And the cars just work.
01:16The made-in-China stigma is fading as more buyers see for themselves
01:21that the Chinese SUV in their driveway is as reliable as the Chinese smartphone in their pocket.
01:52Electric vehicle sales are accelerating, too.
01:57Almost all the electric buses and more than half of the EVs on Latin America's roads are Chinese.
02:04And inside each one are lithium batteries.
02:07Where does all that lithium come from?
02:10More than half of the world's known deposits are in just three countries,
02:15Chile and its neighbors Bolivia and Argentina.
02:19With clear business opportunities for both sides,
02:22the future of Chinese automakers in Latin America is looking bright.
02:26Eason Pan and Jonathan Kaplan for Taiwan Plus.