Development of the Chinese company BYD in the Latin American market
Photo: Unsplash.
According to an article in the media outlet Dialogue Earth, written by Sally Jabiel, the electric vehicle sector is currently booming internationally, and some of the companies that stand out are Tesla and the Chinese company Build Your Dreams (BYD), the latter significantly increasing its presence in Latin America and around the world.
According to the author, in 2023, the Chinese company BYD achieved sales of at least 4.2 million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, making it the company in the sector with the highest number of units sold in the global market.
These sales represented annual revenues for 2024 of 108 billion dollars, equivalent to 777 billion yuan. For its part, the American company Tesla sold 1.8 million vehicles in the same period, generating revenues of 97.7 billion dollars.
In the first quarter report of 2025, the Chinese company reported that sales of its new energy vehicles increased by 60% year-on-year.
This growth, according to the BYD report, was made possible thanks to the launch of a new charging technology known as Super e-Platform, which, according to the company, allows the batteries to gain 400 kilometers of range in an estimated time of five minutes.
Meanwhile, at the time Sally Jabiel wrote the article, Tesla had the Supercharger network, which takes approximately fifteen minutes to add 300 kilometers of range to the batteries.
According to the author, BYD began as a company focused on battery production and is now one of China’s key companies in advancing the mobility sector, gaining a presence in Latin America, a region that still relies mainly on gasoline and diesel.
BYD’s history dates back to 1995, when it began operations as a manufacturer of rechargeable batteries for mobile phones. In 2003, in the context of the emerging electric car market, it acquired the Chinese factory Xi’an Qinchuan Automobile, marking its entry into the automotive sector.
Five years later, it introduced its F3DM model, which, according to BYD, was the first plug-in hybrid car in the global market, representing a significant breakthrough for the industry.
In 2022, it stopped producing vehicles based solely on internal combustion and focused its operations on electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Currently, BYD has a presence in over 70 countries and 400 cities, and it operates 30 industrial parks. For Wang Chuanfu, the company’s founder, the engineering team has been fundamental to the company’s international development.
In an interview given to a Chinese national channel, Wang Chuanfu stated that “behind every innovation and green development technology is the work of 110,000 engineers.” He also pointed out that, in his estimation, Chinese electric vehicles have a three to five-year advantage over competitors in terms of technology, products, and industrial chain.
According to Sally Jabiel, BYD expects to double its international sales by 2025, reaching 800,000 units outside the People’s Republic of China, with the goal of at least half of its total sales coming from abroad.
Ilaria Mazzocco, an expert in Chinese climate policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), noted that “Chinese companies are desperate to find new markets for their products and have acted very quickly in Latin America.”
Mazzocco also indicated that this expansion “is something the Chinese government has supported so far, but for now Latin America does not replace the European market, which is much larger.”
Since November 2024, electric cars made in China have faced 45% tariffs in the European Union. Even so, BYD’s presence in European countries remains significant.
In Latin America, according to Associated Press, in Brazil at least seven out of ten electric vehicles sold were from BYD. According to Sally Jabiel, the company has tried to negotiate with the Brazilian government a reduction in import tariffs, which have been increased to encourage domestic production.
In this context, BYD set up its first plant in Brazil, in the state of Bahia, which is expected to begin operations in June 2025. The start of activities was originally scheduled for earlier months, but an investigation by the Brazilian Prosecutor’s Office for alleged labor rights violations caused delays.
In Colombia, according to the Latin American Association of Automotive Distributors (ALADDA), BYD reached a 42% market share in electric vehicles in 2024.
The Colombian government is promoting an energy transition with the National Electric Mobility Plan, which aims to incorporate 600,000 electric vehicles by 2030. In line with this goal, BYD assembles electric buses in the country and is evaluating the installation of a car assembly plant.
In Mexico, BYD sold 40,000 vehicles in 2024 and expects to double that figure in 2025. According to Financial Times, the company had plans to build a plant with a capacity of 150,000 units per year. However, due to espionage accusations from the United States, the project was canceled.
In Ecuador, BYD currently holds 47% of the electric vehicle market. In Peru, it has set a goal to reach 50% of the local hybrid electric vehicle market by 2025. It also recently announced its entry into Argentina.
José Luis Torres De La Piedra, expert in electromobility and former sales manager of BYD in Peru, stated that the company used to focus on urban transport, such as electric buses in Chile and Colombia, but has now redefined its strategy, prioritizing light and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Torres De La Piedra explained that this strategy responds to a long-term policy. In the Peruvian case, “the office has existed since 2018, when the idea of an electric car seemed distant,” which is why he believes there is a future-oriented vision focused not only on vehicle sales but also on technology.
According to ALADDA, in 2024 sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Latin America reached 412,500 units, reflecting year-on-year growth of 73.5%. Brazil led this growth with 88.7%, followed by Mexico (67%) and Colombia (65%).
Tesla, in contrast, focuses on the European and US markets and has not developed large-scale operations in Latin America or Southeast Asia, regions where BYD already has a presence.
According to Rest of World, the Latin American countries where BYD vehicles are cheapest are Chile and Mexico, with base prices ranging from 20,402 to 21,191 dollars.
Margaret Myers, director of the Asia and Latin America program at the Inter-American Dialogue, noted that this situation “may facilitate the transition to electric cars in the region, but it could also exclude other competitors.”
As for the competition, Myers pointed out that “the United States does not compete in that price range. So Brazil, for example, how does it compete with a Chinese electric vehicle that costs 20,000 dollars? It’s impossible.”
According to Jabiel, these developments led the European Commission to launch an investigation in 2023 into the practices of Chinese companies, amid suspicions of unfair competition through state subsidies from the People’s Republic of China.
As a result, in October 2024 the Commission imposed a 17% tariff on BYD electric cars and, in March 2025, opened an investigation into one of its plants in Hungary.
Last but not least, Margaret Myers warned that if Latin America does not currently demand that these investments include technology transfer, it could be left out of the transition. In her words: “the same old story will repeat itself,” unless “BYD integrates into local value chains.”
* Original text in Spanish. Translated by Large Language Model (LLM) technology.
Main Source:
Más que autos eléctricos: ¿Es la presencia de BYD una victoria para América Latina? – Dialogue Earth
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