Chinese cars dominate Asia, Africa and South America

The real battle between traditional automakers and Chinese manufacturers is not taking place in Europe or the United States, but in developing and low-income economies. China is steadily becoming a serious competitor for consumers throughout Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.

While headlines often focus on Chinese automakers’ expansion into Europe, the real competition is now unfolding in emerging markets.

The main factor behind the success of Chinese car brands in these regions is price. Consumers in developing economies tend to be more price sensitive than consumers in wealthier countries, and Chinese cars are usually less expensive than their European, Japanese, Korean and American competitors.

This price advantage is especially noticeable in the electric vehicle segment.

Who wins and who loses

The data suggests that the main victims of the rise of Chinese automakers so far have been established brands such as Toyota, AprilHonda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki from Japan; Hyundai Kia from South Korea; Deaths, Renault and Volkswagen from Europe. Even American manufacturers such as Chevrolet and Ford were not immune to this transformation.

Interestingly, this change in consumer preferences – from traditional brands to Chinese brands – is not occurring in major developed economies, but rather in emerging markets. While Chinese automakers continue to expand their presence in Europe, reaching a 5% market share by August 2025, their presence is much stronger in countries such as Brazil, Thailand, Israel and even Australia.

In Brazil – the largest car market in Latin America – the market share of Chinese brands rose from 6.8 percent during the period from January to September 2024 to 9.1 percent this year. Combined, its sales would rank fourth among all manufacturers, behind only Fiat, Volkswagen and Chevrolet.

While headlines often focus on Chinese automakers’ expansion into Europe, the real competition is now unfolding in emerging markets.

In Australia, another major market, its share rose to nearly 17 percent by September 2025, up 5.3 percentage points from the same period in 2024.

Meanwhile, traditional automakers continue to lose ground in many of these markets. In Ukraine, for example, Toyota and Renault ceded market share to BYD, which grew from 3 percent between January and September 2024, to 7.7 percent this year.

A similar trend is observed across Latin America and Asia. In Chile, Chevrolet is losing market share to Great Wall Motors and Changan. In Colombia, BYD entered the top 10, knocking Ford out, while in Indonesia it rose to sixth place.

Here’s what the market share of Chinese car brands looks like in markets other than European or American:

However, there are still markets where Chinese automakers do not hold a majority share, but they are growing rapidly. In Uruguay, Chinese car brands rose by 12.6 percent compared to the previous year, while Israel saw growth of 11.5 percent.

The author of the article, Felipe Munoz, is a specialist in the automotive industry in Gato dynamics.