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The Balance of Anfavea Reveals That, in the First Half of 2025, the Advance of Imported Vehicles, Driven by China, Was Much Greater Than That of Models Produced in Brazil, Generating Concerns About Deindustrialization.
According to data released in July 2025 by the National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea), the Brazilian automotive market is experiencing a moment of strong contrast. While sales of domestic vehicles show modest growth, the sale of imported models has skyrocketed, with a pace six times faster. The phenomenon, primarily driven by the strong entry of Chinese brands, has raised an alert in the industry about the risks of a deepening process of deindustrialization in the country.
The balance for the first half of 2025 shows that imported vehicles have captured a significant market share, approaching levels not seen since 2022. For Anfavea, this “invasion” of Chinese and other imported models, although increasing the supply to consumers, poses a threat to the local production chain, to jobs, and to the long-term investments announced by the automakers based in Brazil.
The Advancement of Imports in Numbers
Anfavea’s data for the first half of 2025 is clear. The number of imported vehicles registered in Brazil increased by 15.6%, rising from 197,667 to 228,472 units. In the same period, sales of domestically produced vehicles grew only 2.6%.
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With this performance, the share of imported vehicles in the total registrations of new cars in Brazil jumped from 13% in 2022 to 19.1% in 2025. The volume of nearly 230,000 imported units in the first half is already close to the total recorded for the entire year of 2022, which was 273.5 thousand.
China Accelerates, but Argentina Still Leads as Main Supplier
China was the country with the highest growth in vehicle exports to Brazil. Sales of Chinese models recorded a rise of 37.2%, with 70,695 units registered in the first half of 2025. Anfavea projects that China will account for approximately 200,000 imported vehicles registered in Brazil by the end of the year.
Despite the Chinese advance, Argentina continues to be the main supplier of vehicles to the Brazilian market. With an increase of 13.6%, the neighboring country sent 102,805 units to Brazil in the same period.
The Alert from Anfavea, Risk of Deindustrialization?
The entity representing the manufacturers based in the country views the scenario with concern. “What lies behind this data is a process that could deepen a process of deindustrialization, of job losses, of lower consistency in our supply chain,” said Igor Calvet, President of Anfavea.
Although the investments of around R$ 180 billion announced by automakers with local production are currently maintained, Calvet warned that “these turbulences that could disadvantage local production will necessarily lead to a review of the accounts.” Anfavea advocates for the re-establishment of the import duty for the sector, especially for electric and hybrid vehicles, as a way to reduce what it considers a “competitive imbalanc
The Other Side of the Scale, Exports Also Surge
Despite the concern about the “invasion” of Chinese and other imports, the industry celebrates the good performance of exports. In the first half of 2025, the shipment of vehicles manufactured in Brazil to other countries increased by 59.8%, rising from 165,300 units in 2024 to 264,100 units.
The growth was primarily driven by the Argentine market, which more than doubled its purchases. The main destinations for Brazilian vehicles were:
- Argentina: 157,350 units (growth of 183.1%)
- Mexico: 36,989 units (decline of 18.4%)
- Colombia: 19,939 units (growth of 38%)
National Production, A Positive Growth, but With Reservations
National vehicle production in the first half of 2025 reached 1,226,663 units, an increase of 7.8% compared to the same period in 2024. However, the result, although positive in the aggregate, hides a recent slowdown.
Production recorded a decline for the second consecutive month, with a drop of 5.9% in May and 6.5% in June. This scenario, combined with the advance of imports, keeps the industry on alert for the second half of the year.
What do you think about the increase in imported cars in Brazil? Is it good for the consumer or a risk for the national industry?
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