Electric Vehicles

Any of our readers who have been following my reports know that Latin America’s EV sales are rising. In some countries, they may not be growing as fast as we would wish; in others, they’re faster than we ever expected; but the trend remains clear regardless.

Latin America’s* market amounts to some 5 million vehicles a year, 70% of which corresponds to only two countries (Brazil and Mexico), with another 20% belonging to four countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru). The remaining 10% is left to another dozen countries or so. (*Minus the Caribbean, which isn’t a big market in any case.)

The region is also known for being highly protectionist, with tariffs to promote local industry, be it by pressure from the US (as is the case of Mexico) or because of a regional interest (as is the case in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru). This means that local production is imperative if the EV revolution is to succeed. So, how are things going on that front?

It should come as no surprise that the two largest markets, and two largest producers, are also the two pioneers in EV production in Latin America: Mexico and Brazil. Together, these two countries account for at least five plants already producing EVs, and at least six coming up with production planned prior to 2027.