The years 2021 and 2022 were incredible in the automotive industry Chileanwith historical figures in sales and profitability. But today the sector faces an increasingly complex scenario, characterized by more competition and new brands breaking into the market, with a clear geographical differentiation: Asia prevails while firms from Europe and the United States retreat. And a big winner: China.
If in 2019, prior to the pandemic, there were around 53 brands competing for a place in national territory, seven years later this figure grew to 88.. In that period, the ten leading brands concentrated 63% of total sales, while today that number has decreased to 56%.
To this scenario of profound reconfiguration, was added a significant contraction that has been dragging on the national market since 2023 and a more restrictive economy, marked by high interest rates, and the boost that the arrival of Chinese cars to the country has had.
Although during 2025 the sector improved compared to the previous year, with more than 310,000 units sold, The sector still does not achieve the numbers of three years ago.
According to figures from the National Automotive Association of Chile (Anac), China represents 32.4% of the cars imported to Chile, followed by Japan (26.3%) and South Korea (14%). Meanwhile, under this scenario, the US (13.2%), France (7.4%) and Germany (5.2%) have lost ground.
In the case of Chinese vehicles, seven years ago they represented only 16%.
The dominance of Asia
Of the 10 best-selling brands in the country today (Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Chevrolet, Ford, GWM, Peugeot, Changan and Mitsubishi), seven of them are of Asian origin, while two are North American and one is European.
And it is the arrival of Chinese brands that has been causing a change in the status quo of the sector, in which historically Old World and US groups were leaders in both revenue and profits.
The difference is noticeable in the sales volume, according to the data provided by the automotive union. In 2025, all Chinese brands together sold more than 100,000 units, the Japanese around 81,000 units sold and the Koreans around 43,000. For their part, the European teams reached sales of almost 40,000 cars, while the North American teams reached around 41,000 vehicles. With this, brands of Asian origin reached around 72% of sales in the local market.
In the opinion of the Anac operations manager, Daniel Nunes, “Overall, this process does not reflect a replacement of some brand origins with others, but rather a redistribution of the market in a context of greater competition and global integration of the automotive industry.”
The greater competition, according to different sources in the sector, is due to a change in the mentality of the national consumer. This, because Chileans have historically been rather reluctant to buy cars of Asian origin, but especially cars “made in China.”
In that sense, the executive director of Toyota Chile stated that “The market has expanded and diversified, but what we see is that the Chilean consumer continues to value solid proposals over time. It is not just about the vehicle, but about quality, support, after-sales and overall experience.”
For her part, Nunes added that “although this scenario would have been difficult to anticipate a decade ago, Today it responds to a structural transformation of the automotive industry and a more informed consumer.”
An increasingly Chinese market
Currently, In Chile, the country that sells the most cars, according to the origin of the brand, is China: approximately four out of every 10 new cars sold come from the Asian giant. In fact, between 2024 and 2025, the presence of Chinese cars on the country’s streets grew by 2.4%.
In the opinion of Chery’s marketing manager, Nicolás Rodríguez, “Years ago these results were unthinkable. Historically, Chileans were skeptical of cars of Chinese origin.”
And according to the Anac executive, “From a market point of view, the data suggests that historical barriers to cars of Asian origin have been significantly reduced. Today, a significant part of the vehicles sold in Chile correspond to Asian brands or models manufactured in countries such as China and other markets on the continent.”
At the moment, In the Chilean market, of the 88 brands in national territory, there are already 41 that come from the country of silk and bamboo.
In that sense, Rodríguez maintained that “What was previously unthinkable, seeing Chinese brands competing on equal terms with Japanese and Korean brands, is today a consolidated reality.”
It should also be noted that From the perspective of manufacturing origin, today most of the cars that arrive in the country come from the Asian giant. According to Anac, in 2025, 41% of the cars that arrived in the country were Chinese, while in 2019 they only represented 20%.
