China surpassed Argentina in January to become the largest exporter of cars to Brazil, consolidating the dominance of Chinese brands in the region's largest car market and reducing Argentina's long-standing trade advantage within Mercosur.

Chinese vehicle shipments to Brazil reached 16,800 units in January, compared with 13,400 from Argentina, according to industry data released by Autoweb. This marks the erosion of Argentina's decades-long dominance of Brazil's import market, after China took the lead for the first time on a quarterly basis in early 2024.

Imports of Chinese cars to Brazil reached US$375 million in January, more than 10 times the value of a year ago, according to trade data. This figure also represented about 65% of the value of Brazil's car imports in January.

(Source: Segunda Base, 9 February)