Brazil EV Sales Report: Local EV Production Imminent as Sales Reach a New Record in May

With over 14,000 EVs sold in May (an all-time high) and year-on-year growth of 63%, Brazil’s EV market seems to be gearing up for a record 2025. YoY sales have grown every month of this year so far, and the market has already surpassed the levels from December 2024, despite December being normally a record month. This is happening while the country gets ready for local EV production: BYD and GWM will start churning out the Dolphin Mini and the Haval H6 in July, in their Camaçarí and Iracemápolis factories respectively.

Brazil’s market is particular in Latin America insofar as it has recently developed a clear preference for PHEVs over BEVs. As such, in May, BEVs “only” grew 35% whereas PHEVs grew by an impressive 104%. Paradoxically, this month could be seen as a “recovery” for BEVs, as sales through 2025 had been falling prior to May (with all growth so far being thanks to PHEVs). In May, sales figures for both powertrains were nearly equal, with 48% being BEVs and 52% being PHEVs:

The overall market also presented significant growth in May 2025, meaning market share remains slightly below the all-time record from March, earlier this year. However, market share has now remained three months above the 6% mark, showing a consistency that we had not seen before (the Brazilian market reached 5% EV market share in January 2024, fell again through the whole year, and only recovered this figure in December):

The sad part is that, due to the overall boom in sales, non-plug-in powertrains (HEV, MHEV, ICEV) rose by some 25,000 units. There’s a silver lining: even if growth continues, the market is unlikely to surpass 3 million units, which is still below the record from 2012 (3.6 million units).

Market Overview

Brazil’s market remains dominated by BYD, but thanks to more detailed data, we now know that there’s a serious contestant: GWM. While BYD retains most of the market for itself (64%), GWM has also risen thanks to the PHEV version of its Haval H6, an SUV that will start production in Iracemápolis next month. These two companies basically own the market (82%), with Volvo (5.5%) and BMW (2%) following behind. A notable mention is Jaecoo, a brand from Chery that came out of nowhere and is now sitting at #5 thanks to the PHEV Jaecoo 7, which could also be produced in Brazil later this year. We also see a surprising appearance from Land Rover, which got the 10^th position thanks to 93 units sold — Brazilians love their SUVs, and it shows.

Model-wise, BYD gets gold (Song), silver (Dolphin Mini), and an additional 4 models in the top 10. GWM gets the bronze with its Haval H6, and has another model in the top 10: the Tank 300 PHEV, a rugged SUV with a massive (for a PHEV) 37.1 kWh battery that reminds me of the old Jeeps from WWII and the mid-20^th century. Elsewhere, we see the Volvo EX30 and the Jaecoo 7 as the only non-BYD, non-GWM models on the list. Something I noticed was that the BYD Yuan Up (or Yuan Pro, as  it’s called in this market) is far from the success we see in other markets like Colombia or Uruguay, only getting the 7^th position in Brazil.

Through the year, not much has changed: the top 5 remains similar, only with Porsche replacing Jaecoo as #5. We also see the appearance of Mercedes-Benz and Audi, but, frankly, at 0.8% and 0.6% market share respectively, they seem almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Model-wise, something interesting is that the Tank 300 is not on this list, as it only arrived in Brazil in April, instead being replaced by the GWM Ora 03. We also see the Volvo XC60 alongside the EX30, meaning Volvo gets two models in the top 10:

Final Thoughts

There are several trends arising in Brazil that are worth pointing to.

First, I said it already, but it begs repeating: Brazilians love their SUVs. Despite the market having some successful affordable models (BYD Dolphin Mini, Dolphin, King; GWM Ora 03), a large part of the growth is driven by premium SUVs like the Haval H6, the BYD Song, and the Tank 300. Brazil is a big country with a limited fast-charging network (mostly present in the South), and as I’ve mentioned before, it has made huge investments in biofuels, meaning there’s a logic on betting in long-range PHEVs and EREVs that will be used in electric mode 90% of the time and will use ethanol for the other 10%.

Second, we’re finally seeing some decent growth after what seemed like an eternity of relative stagnation. Thanks to the meteoric growth of 2023, nearly all of 2024 presented year-on-year increases, but the intra-year growth was tepid and market share stood practically stagnant the whole year. In 2025, however, PHEVs have risen and BEVs are now recovering lost ground, meaning it finally seems like Brazil has comfortably surpassed the 5% mark and is now rising towards 10%.

Third, the “Sinification” of the Brazilian EV market is now complete, and Legacy Auto is now merely an afterthought. This matters little in 2025 (because non-plug-in sales keep growing), but I bet it will matter a lot after 2027, as the Chinese have beaten every competitor not only in bringing their cars to market, but in producing them locally. Unless Legacy Auto is capable of rapidly bringing prices down in the next three or four years, it will drown in unused capacity as the market further electrifies.

Most important of all, local production is finally happening. BYD’s and GWM’s EVs will become an integral part of the Brazilian industrial sector, and they will receive the natural benefits local companies accrue in industrially protected markets. Chery is also producing locally — though, only ICEVs for now. And GAC has announced significant operations in Brazil, promising to turn the country into its biggest hub outside of China.

There’s an interesting comparison to be done between Latin America’s two largest economies: whereas Mexico has become a hub for Legacy Auto, intricately linked to the global economy and to the huge US consumer market, Brazil has chosen a more protectionist route and turned into an “island” only meaningfully linked to its allies in Mercosur. Alas, with everything happening in the US, it seems it’s Brazil that has proven the most interesting country for leading Chinese brands, whereas Mexico is now more dependent on Legacy Auto’s will to electrify. As a result, Brazil is ramping up EV production faster (despite starting later), electrifying faster, and gaining an edge overall as Mexico lags behind.

Local production could provide a boost for Brazil EV adoption, bringing a new wave of growth to this market in the second half of this year. If anything, it’s this that makes me hopeful we will see Brazil inch closer and closer to the 10% market share mark. What do you guys think? When will we be reporting this milestone here at CleanTechnica?