BYD to Enter the Last Frontier for Electrification in Latin America: Argentina! – CleanTechnica

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It’s finally happening.

After years of watching Argentina’s EV market linger, staying at or below 0.1% market share, the tides seem to be turning. BYD seems unstoppable lately and it seems it will enter head-on one of the least electrified markets in the world and the perennial laggard in Latin America. And it has high hopes for it.

At nearly half a million vehicles sold every year, Argentina stands as the third largest vehicle market in Latin America (behind Brazil and Mexico), and as such, the fact that it sells fewer EVs in a year than Costa Rica sells in a month has no doubt dragged the regional numbers down. But thanks to a more open policy, and to the aggressive expansion BYD is pursuing worldwide, we may finally be seeing EVs arrive in decent numbers in the Silver Country later this year.

EV Tariff Waivers

Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, is breaking a lot of the barriers that prevented foreign companies from entering Argentina, and one of its most important policies has been a waiver on tariffs for EVs. Specifically, 50,000 “electrified” (hybrid+electric) vehicles will have no tariffs in 2025 (so long as their import cost stands below $16,000 before any additional taxes or costs). That’s equivalent to more than 10% of the total market.

Most of these are likely to be regular or mild hybrids, but with EVs now trending lower in price, it may be that BEVs and PHEVs manage to get a significant portion of the pie. BYD was awarded 1,300 units, a small number, yet more than double total EV sales for 2024…. But there will be other brands interested in the deal, and these waivers are supposed to be used in 2025.

Where in the World is Tesla?

Javier Milei is a well known Musk fan, and he would’ve no doubt provided Tesla with significant incentives to enter the Argentinian market … but Tesla seems to be missing in action. Instead, it’s the Chinese that are taking advantage of these opportunities.

Milei was clear a while ago that while he might feel closer to the US in a political sense, he won’t shun the Chinese, as they are “good business partners.” However, I never ever expected BYD to beat Tesla to Argentina, and frankly the fact that this is even happening showcases the USA’s currently weak strategic planning. By all metrics, our headline should say Tesla and not BYD.

But alas, it is what it is, and it seems Elon has been far too busy meddling in the US government to focus on the great opportunities that developing markets offer the company. No wonder Tesla is falling behind.

Final Thoughts

Javier Milei has been an extremely polemic figure in Argentina, and though most of you can probably guess my position insofar as to his policies, I won’t delve into those matters, or else I’d turn my articles into Latin American political banter.

Instead, I want to focus on the milestone that this represents. Argentina is quite literally the last frontier, as it’s the last reasonably big market in the region with basically no EV sales, but things are changing rapidly and a pro-free-market president has further fueled this trend. Back in 2024, I said Argentina would only electrify once significant EV options came from Brazil, but it seems now that we may witness it beforehand.

BYD has decided to enter Argentina as an independent company, instead of allying with local distributors as was the case in Colombia and Peru. Hopefully, this means it wants to be more aggressive in pricing, prioritizing market share over profits. For now, the Seagull, Dolphin, and Yuan Pro will be the models arriving in the country (once again showcasing a focus on affordable cars).

It remains to be seen how eager Argentinians will be to adopt EVs. We know already that similar countries can have dramatically different adoption rates (for example, Colombia vs. Peru, or Chile vs. Uruguay). If social media is any indicator, Argentinians are not really all that into BEVs. However, once Argentina becomes electrified to a significant degree, there will not be any last stronghold, any reasonably sized market where ICEVs can still rule the land, and inevitably EVs will also enter smaller markets … if they haven’t already done so.

Still, my bet is that Argentina will remain behind the curve, and my best-case scenario for 2025 is that it reaches 1% … and even that I find unlikely. Hopefully, Argentinians will prove me wrong.