Latin America's sales of electric vehicles (EVs) — including plug-in hybrid vehicles — and hybrid light vehicles are all on track in 2025 to surpass 2024 levels, continuing exponential growth since 2020.
Data for the region's major markets show plug-in hybrid battery vehicle sales have grown the fastest, double to more than 5,000 units in the third quarter of 2025 against a year earlier. The calculation is based on government and private-industry data collected by Argus on Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Ecuador, Chile and Peru have yet to report September sales, so the calculations assume steady rates in that month.
Third-quarter sales of non-plug-in hybrid cars rose by about 60pc to more than 88,000 units versus a year earlier and 100pc battery electric vehicle sales grew by almost 50pc to more than 36,000 units in the same period, picking up after a slower first quarter.
Public decarbonization policies and targets are supporting EV and hybrid sales, according to a report by Latin America Energy Organization (Olade) published in September.
Improved EV manufacturing technologies, a wider supply of brands and models and lower battery costs have also made EVs increasingly competitive compared to combustion engine cars, it said.
Sales of EVs are still a fairly small share of Latin America's total car fleet — about 4pc in 2024 compared with 40pc in China — but the gains are steady, the IEA said in its Global EV Outlook 2025. Chinese imports are the majority of EV sales in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico as well as Uruguay and Costa Rica, IEA noted. Only Argentina imports more from other regions.
Charging barriers
A key barrier to adopting EVs is insufficient charging infrastructure outside of major cities.
The installation of public charging stations by the private sector is still not considered cost-effective for investors because of lower demand, the Olade report said.
Other obstacles to implementing charging infrastructure are bureaucratic permitting processes, tariff regulations and interoperability requirements that harmonize charging standards.
Brazil leads the region with combined sales of EVs and hybrids doubling to more than 55,000 units in the third quarter. International EV manufacturers, such as China's BYD, have set up production plants there.
Brazil has a national EV strategy and benefits from a "pioneering" regulatory framework for EVs, said Olade.
Its regulations cover subsidies for the purchase price, import tax exemptions, vehicle restriction exemptions, preferential electricity tariffs and charging infrastructure.
Mexico catching up
Mexico is the region's second-largest EV market. Third-quarter sales of electric and plug-in hybrids reached almost 2,500 units, up by 50pc from a year earlier, EV manufacturers association EMA said in its quarterly report based on data from seven EV and hybrid automakers, including Tesla and China's BYD.
The EMA report comes as reporting of auto sales in Mexico experiences a growing distortion, because state statistics agency Inegi tracks only two of the seven EV and PHEV makers that report sales to EMA, the association says. Manufacturers report sales on a voluntary basis in Mexico to both entities.
Mexico under President Claudia Sheinbaum is developing a national EV strategy and has regulations on import tax exemptions, vehicle restriction exemptions, preferential electricity rates and providing subsidies for EV purchases.
Mexico has a low number of charging stations per 100 electric vehicles but its "robust" vehicle manufacturing capacity offers EV production and export opportunities, noted Olade.
The transport sector is Latin America and the Caribbean's main contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, representing 38pc of the total, according to Olade.
Reducing emissions from transportation will be key for the countries to meet their commitments to reduce greenhouse gasses under the Paris Agreement, as the countries head to the UN Cop 30 climate summit set for November in Belem, Brazil.
