Chinese cars dominate in Asia, Africa and South America

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

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

A key factor behind the success of Chinese car brands in these regions is price. Consumers in developing economies tend to be more price sensitive than those in richer countries, and Chinese cars tend to be cheaper than their European, Japanese, Korean and American rivals.

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

Who wins, who loses

Data shows that the main victims of the rise of Chinese automakers so far have been established brands such as Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki from Japan; Hyundai and Kia from South Korea; and Fiat, Renault and Volkswagen from Europe. Even American manufacturers like Chevrolet and Ford have not been immune to this shift.

Interestingly, this change in consumer preference – from traditional brands to Chinese ones – is not happening in the major developed economies, but in emerging markets. While Chinese carmakers continue to expand their presence in Europe and will reach a 5 percent market share by August 2025, their footprint 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 between January and September 2024 to 9.1 percent this year. Combined, their sales would rank fourth among all manufacturers, behind only Fiat, Volkswagen and Chevrolet.

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

In Australia, another key market, their share rose to almost 17 percent in September 2025, an increase of 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 noticeable in Latin America and Asia. In Chile, Chevrolet is losing market share to GWM and Changan. In Colombia, BYD has entered the top 10, pushing Ford out, while in Indonesia it has risen to sixth place.

This is what the market share of Chinese car brands looks like in non-European or American markets:

That said, there are still markets where Chinese automakers have not yet taken over the majority share, but are growing rapidly. In Uruguay, Chinese car brands are up 12.6 percent year-on-year, while Israel is seeing 11.5 percent growth.

The author of the article, Felipe Munoz, is an automotive industry specialist at JATO dynamics.