Cars: April patents would go down and Chinese brands are already in the “top 10”

One fact that stands out in the day before the end of April is that the Chinese brand BYDwho settled in Argentina less than a year ago, appears octave among the best-selling brands. And another Chinese brand, BAIC, is marching tenth in the ranking.

These positions can change at the last minute, since many dealerships of brands with tradition in Argentina usually have awards due to higher sales and rush to close operations in the last business days of the month.

But even so, the advance of Chinese brands in sales is beginning to have statistical weight. The arrival of BYD and BAIC to the “top ten” is also complemented by the impact that the sales of the model have. Ford Territoryof Chinese origin, in the commercial performance of Ford Argentina, a regular in the “top 5” of the ranking.

The sales ranking continues to be led by brands that have been in the local market for decades, with a wide network of dealerships and after-sales services. But in all cases, the figures for April and the accumulated figures for the year show a drop compared to the same period in 2025.

Until Wednesday the ranking was headed by Toyota with 6,387 units, followed by Volkswagen (5.100), Fiat (4.312), Chevrolet (3.556)Ford (3.448), Renault (3.138) y Peugeot (2,544). Eighth was located BYD ((1,593 patented units), followed by Citroen (1,593) and, closing the “top ten”, BLOCK (855).

For these two Chinese brands, the progress is absolute: BYD was not in Argentina a year ago, while BAIC had patented only 336 vehicles in April 2025.

On the other hand, for the other brands the decline is pronounced. Even with the exception that the last business day can reduce differences, the drop in sales in all brands is between 20% and 30% versus a year ago.

The entry of Chinese brands, although many have had a commercial presence in Argentina for more than a decade, accelerated with the Government’s decision to enable a quota of up to 50,000 units per year so that hybrid or electric vehicles with an FOB price of up to $16,000 can enter duty-free. Virtually all of these vehicles are of Chinese origin.

In fact, both the quota of 50,000 units for 2025 and the other 50,000 for this year are entering in these months, hence their weight in the patenting figures. In a market that is expected to have 600,000 units this year, the almost 100,000 units of Chinese origin They begin to have a gravitation that until now had not been seen in the local market.

For the moment, the importers that bring these brands operate exclusively within the tariff-free sale enabled by the Ministry of Economy.

But there is an exception to this rule and it is not minor: BYD, the brand of electric and hybrid vehicles number one in the worldwas installed in Argentina as an automotive terminal (it does not depend on a local importer) and has already begun to import models outside the quota, paying a 35% tariff. This is the case of the medium pickup Sharkwhich it launched this month and sells for a retail price of $60,000.