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.