China's new energy vehicles are enjoying a strong sales season in Latin America in 2024, with sales in Brazil alone increasing eightfold in the first four months.

In the first four months of 2024, China's passenger car exports to Brazil rose 372.4 percent to a record high of $762 million, according to a combination of data from Brazilian government agencies and industry associations. The performance of Chinese electric vehicles in the Brazilian market is even brighter - in the first four months of 2024, the sales of Chinese electric vehicles in Brazil amounted to 48,000 units, eight times that of the same period last year; Chinese electric vehicles accounted for 36.2% of the total number of electric vehicles imported into Brazil. Currently, electric vehicles have become the fourth major product exported from China to Brazil. The Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association report shows that BYD, Chery and Great Wall are among the best-selling electric vehicle brands in Brazil in 2023.

The Brazilian new energy vehicle market is highly competitive, with manufacturers competing for users through technological and cost advantages, and the reputation and market share of their respective brands gradually taking shape. 2023 Brazilian automotive market will be characterized by a significant increase in the share of Chinese branded electric vehicles.

"Good product" and "good price" go hand in hand, is an important secret that Chinese new energy vehicles are in short supply in the Brazilian market. Tullio Carrero, an expert of Brazil-China Entrepreneurs Committee, believes that the secret of the rise of Chinese new energy vehicles lies in the fact that "China is not only a producer, but also a creator", and not only "Made in China", but also "Designed in China". Not only "Made in China", but also "Designed in China". Chinese cars are favored by consumers, especially China's new energy vehicles in line with the needs of Brazil's energy transition. Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade in charge of foreign trade vice minister Tatiana Prazeres pointed out that a multitude of data is sufficient to show that China's new energy vehicles in a number of aspects more competitive.

The rapid progress of China's new energy vehicles is a product of China's green development strategy combined with the world's future development trend. This kind of forward-looking strategic thinking in industrial development and the "real skills" gained through open competition have been widely recognized by all walks of life in Brazil. Cassio Pagliarini, a partner of the automotive manufacturing consulting firm, said that Chinese companies "made a strategic decision to invest in electric vehicles 20 years ago", and the investment targets cover the whole industry chain from electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, light hybrid vehicles to charging systems and high-tech batteries. Marcelo Cavalcante, a senior executive in the automotive retail consulting industry, believes that after years of forward-looking layout investment, "today China has a modern, strong (new energy) automotive industry, with production standards and efficiency better than the rest of the world."

The Brazilian automotive industry believes that the quality and volume of China's new energy industry chain is enviable, and there are huge opportunities for investment and cooperation. Great Wall Motor and BYD have successively purchased Mercedes-Benz plants and Ford plants located in São Paulo and Bahia states respectively. Brazil's mainstream financial media "Economic Value" reported that BYD announced an investment of about 3 billion reais (about 560 million U.S. dollars) to transform the former Ford plant into a factory that will produce up to 300,000 hybrid and electric vehicles annually from 2025, while Great Wall Motor's newly purchased factory is expected to produce up to 100,000 vehicles annually.

The new energy vehicle trade allows Brazilians to enjoy advanced electric vehicles at lower prices and higher quality, and promotes Brazil's green transformation, while investment in the new energy sector boosts the country's industrial development and technological advancement and brings in a large number of jobs. Brazilian Vice President Alckmin recently said at a China-Brazil business seminar in Beijing that "China is Brazil's largest trading partner and an important investor", and that the two countries have great potential for strategic cooperation in the fields of hybrid and electric vehicles, renewable energies, the aerospace industry, infrastructure and so on.

According to the International Energy Agency's estimation, the global demand for new energy vehicles will reach 45 million units in 2030, which is 4.5 times that of 2022. Especially against the backdrop of carbon neutrality targets proposed by more than 130 countries and regions, the global demand for green capacity is far greater than the output. This shows that there is not a surplus of green capacity globally, but still a shortage.

Regarding the so-called "overcapacity theory" speculated by politicians and media in some Western countries, such as the United States, an article on the website of Brazil Truth pointed out that this is just another fancy new discourse narrative fabricated by the West against China, but in fact, China's continuous expansion and progress in the field of new energy is a rare opportunity for development and cooperation in the global South. cooperation opportunities for the global South.