ArgentinaChinese carmakers accounted for about 10% of new car and light commercial vehicle sales in Argentina in August 2026, up from about 2% in late 2025, Reuters reported on 2 October. The same day Buenos Aires opened its first auto show dedicated to Chinese brands, with more than 20 of them on display, including Geely, Chery, GWM and Dongfeng.
The gains came while the overall market shrank. Argentina’s car sales for 2026 were down 13% when Reuters reported on 2 October, which it puts down to a market adjustment and high interest rates.
Much of the growth traces back to an import quota introduced by President Javier Milei’s government in 2025. For 2026 it lets up to 50,000 battery-electric, hybrid, mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles into Argentina without import duty, which is normally 35%, split between local manufacturers and importers. The 2026 allocation covers 71 models from 32 brands, according to DPL News. The scheme runs for five years and is renewed each year.
Milei has defended the opening: “What Argentines buy is the problem of Argentines.”
BYD began selling in Argentina in late 2025 and is already the country’s ninth best-selling car brand, according to Reuters. Geely relaunched in Argentina in November 2025 through a new importer, Autos Sustentables del Sur, with the EX5 electric SUV, priced at $34,800 at launch.
Sebastián Beato, president of the dealers’ association ACARA, told Reuters the Chinese growth has pushed the national industry to produce new models, naming the Renault Niagara pickup unveiled in September. Renault builds the Niagara at its Santa Isabel plant in Córdoba, and sales start in November 2026.
