Brazil overtakes Russia to become the world’s largest buyer of Chinese cars

Brazil has become the largest buyer of Chinese cars in the world. Between January and May 2026, the country imported US$ 5.2 billion (R$ 26.7 billion) in vehicles manufactured in China and surpassed Russia (US$ 5 billion) and Belgium (US$ 3.8 billion), according to Chinese customs data compiled by the newspaper Valor Econômico. The advance is 146.9% over the US$ 2.1 billion recorded in the same period of 2025. In last year’s survey, Brazil appeared only in sixth position among the largest importers.

Of the US$ 5.2 billion, US$ 4.5 billion corresponds to electrified – pure electric, plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids. In April and May alone, the category moved US$ 2.7 billion. The share of electric and hybrid vehicles in the total vehicles that Brazil buys from China rose from 33% in 2021 to 87% in 2025.

In this cut, the country also leads the global ranking, ahead of Belgium and the United Kingdom (US$ 3.4 billion). A survey by the Brazil-China Business Council (CEBC) shows that, in the first half of the year, electrified vehicles accounted for 15% of everything that Brazil imported from China. Pure electric vehicles totaled US$ 2 billion, four times the previous year’s value, and plug-in hybrids, US$ 2.79 billion, twice as much.

The race against the tax

Much of the explanation is in the tax calendar. Since July 1, the import tax for electric vehicles assembled abroad has risen from 25% to 35%, a ceiling provided for in the tax exemption schedule defined in 2023 by Gecex. Conventional and plug-in hybrids also reached 35%, coming from 30% and 28%.

With the date approaching, brands rushed to advance shipments. Tulio Cariello, director of content and research at CEBC, told Valor that purchases intensified precisely to escape the tariff and that now there should be accommodation, with the inventory formed meeting domestic sales. He does not expect a sharp drop: the interest of the Brazilian consumer remains high, including in the middle and upper-middle classes.

Brazil sold 215,023 light electrified vehicles in the first half of the year, up 125% from 95,493 units in the same period of 2025, according to the Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association (ABVE). The pace is about six times higher than the 19.4% growth of the automotive market as a whole.

The counterpart is an asymmetric trade route. Brazilian exports to China totaled US$ 58.3 billion in the semester, a record for the period, but concentrated in low value-added commodities . In the opposite direction come electrified cars, products with a much higher margin.