最后一块电动车新大陆：南美市场由谁改写？
在全球电动车竞争版图中，拉丁美洲正从“空白地带”迅速跃升为最后一块正在被改写的新大陆。国际能源署在《2025年全球电动汽车展望》中测算，2024年拉美电动车市场份额已从约2%翻倍至4%，其中巴西电动车销量超过12.5万辆，市占率约6.5%，成为带动区域增长的核心市场。在这一轮渗透率快速抬升的过程中，一个由多国车企共同参与的新竞争格局正在形成。
从需求端看，电动车正在从少数“尝鲜”的环保象征，转变为中产家庭和中小企业可实际考量的通勤与运营工具。更多低售价的新进入品牌正提供配置相对完整的纯电与插混产品，使电动化从“高端玩家选项”变成可以进入家庭预算表的现实方案。在油价偏高、城市拥堵加剧的背景下，城市通勤场景中电动车的使用成本已显著低于燃油车。
供给端的变化，则与航运基础设施、关税政策及本地制造布局密切相关。由于多数南美国家缺乏大规模整车制造能力，长期依赖进口，为外来品牌留下了广阔空间。随着位于秘鲁利马北部、在共建“一带一路”框架下建设的昌凯超级港口正式启用，来自亚洲的整车到港时间几乎缩短了一半，港口逐渐成为面向整个南美的区域分拨中心。秘鲁海关数据显示，经由昌凯港进口的整车数量今年1月仅为839辆，而7月则已经达到3057辆；这些车辆中相当部分通过转运进入智利、厄瓜多尔、哥伦比亚等周边国家。在南美最大单一市场巴西，核心焦点则更多围绕关税与产业政策展开。巴西电动车销量在2024年已超过12万台，中国品牌一度占据当地电动车销量的八成以上，促使政府自2024年起逐步恢复此前下调的电动车进口关税，计划到2026年将税率提高至35%。不少企业选择在关税上调前集中发运整车，同时加快布局本地生产，以分散政策波动风险。
本地制造正在成为车企在南美获得长期竞争力的关键抓手之一。以长城汽车为例，其位于巴西圣保罗州伊拉塞马波利斯的工厂于2025年8月15日正式投入运营，初期产能约为3万辆，规划在2028年提升至5万辆，并计划在未来向墨西哥、智利及南方共同市场其他成员国出口整车。投产仪式上，巴西总统卢拉亲自为首台下线的哈弗 H6 车型在机盖上签名，展示出巴西在引导外资车企落地、同时推动本地工业升级方面的政策取向。比亚迪等企业也在巴西推进工厂建设或扩建规划，希望在电动车关税逐步上调、贸易环境趋于复杂的背景下，通过本地化生产锁定市场、提升区域辐射能力。
从行业视角看，南美电动车热潮既是一场“补课”，也是一场结构重构。一方面，该地区电动车整体渗透率仍明显低于欧洲和中国，意味着中长期增长空间广阔；另一方面，进口关税调整、本地制造推进以及区域物流通道重塑，正在加速打破长期由欧美日品牌主导的格局，使南美从传统燃油车洼地走向更加多元、更加价格敏感、更加重视使用成本和服务网络的新竞争舞台。在这一“没有单一明星主角”的市场中，真正具备持续优势的，将是那些能够在产品力与价格之间取得平衡、同时深度理解当地政策与用户需求，并愿意通过渠道共建和本地制造扎根南美的参与者。
In the global electric-vehicle race, Latin America is rapidly shifting from a blank spot on the EV map to the “last frontier” now being redrawn. According to the International Energy Agency’s Global EV Outlook 2025, the region’s electric-car market share doubled from around 2% to 4% in 2024, with Brazil selling more than 125,000 electric cars and reaching a 6.5% share of its passenger-car market. During this round of rapid increase in penetration rate, a new competitive landscape involving automakers from multiple countries is taking shape.
On the demand side, EVs are moving from a niche “green status symbol” to a realistic option for middle-class households and small businesses. New price-sensitive entrants are offering reasonably well-equipped BEVs and PHEVs. As a result, electrification has shifted from a “premium toy” to something that can be written into a family or fleet budget. Against the backdrop of high oil prices and worsening urban congestion, the usage cost of electric vehicles in urban commuting scenarios has significantly decreased compared to fuel vehicles.
On the supply side, the story is being reshaped by port infrastructure, tariff policy and the pace of local manufacturing. Most South American countries lack large-scale auto manufacturing and have long relied on imports, leaving a wide opening for overseas brands. The new deep-water port of Chancay, north of Lima and built under China’s Belt and Road framework, has cut transit times from Asia by almost half and is emerging as a regional distribution hub. Peruvian customs data show that 3,057 vehicles arrived through Chancay in July 2025, compared with just 839 in January, with a significant share trans-shipped onward to Chile, Ecuador and Colombia. In Brazil, the region’s largest single market, the focus is on tariffs and industrial policy. EV sales there exceeded 120,000 units in 2024, and Chinese brands at one point captured more than 80% of the electric-car market, prompting the government to re-introduce EV import duties from 2024, with rates scheduled to climb to 35% by 2026. Many manufacturers have responded by shipping large volumes ahead of the tariff increases while accelerating local production plans to reduce policy risk.
Local manufacturing is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of long-term competitiveness in the region. Great Wall Motor’s plant in Iracemápolis, São Paulo state, officially came on line on 15 August 2025, with an initial capacity of around 30,000 vehicles per year and plans to lift that to 50,000 by 2028, targeting exports to Mexico, Chile and other members of Mercosur. At the inauguration ceremony, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the hood of the first Haval H6 to roll off the line—an image that encapsulates Brazil’s desire to attract new investment while upgrading its industrial base. BYD and other automakers are also pursuing greenfield plants or expansion projects in Brazil, aiming to anchor their market positions and enhance regional export capabilities as tariffs rise and trade politics become more complex.From an industry perspective, South America’s EV surge is both a catch-up exercise and a structural reset. Overall penetration still lags far behind Europe and China, implying substantial room for medium-term growth. At the same time, shifting tariff regimes, the advance of local manufacturing and the re-wiring of regional logistics corridors are eroding the long-standing dominance of established Western and Japanese brands, transforming South America from a traditional internal-combustion stronghold into a more diverse, price-sensitive and cost-of-use-driven competitive arena. In a market without a single “superstar” brand, the winners are likely to be those who can balance product substance and pricing, deeply understand local policy and consumer dynamics, and commit to long-term investment in channels and manufacturing on the ground.