EV sales surge in Latin America, led by Chinese makers

BYD tops Tesla as sales surged 187% in 2024

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BYD’s Dolphin.

(Michael Molinski is a senior economist at Trendline Economics. He’s worked for Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo, and previously as a foreign correspondent and editor for Bloomberg News and MarketWatch.)

SANTIAGO, Chile (Callaway Climate Insights) ─ The number of electric vehicles in Latin America saw a dramatic surge last year, almost tripling in size to 444,000 in 2024 from 155,000 registered units in 2023; and China’s BYD has taken the lead from Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ .

Light battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles sold in Latin America and the Caribbean expanded 187% year-on-year, according to data released last month by the Latin American Energy Organization (Olade). While that represents only 0.7% of the global electric vehicle fleet, Latin America’s sharp growth is gaining the attention of the EV industry.

By comparison, 300,000 EVs were sold in the first quarter of 2025 in the U.S., according to the latest report from Kelley Blue Book, an increase of 11.4% year over year.

Brazil and Mexico have emerged as regional leaders in the development of public charging infrastructure, and BYD is scheduled to open the first EV production plant in Bahia, Brazil, later this year.