Uruguay (brands) Full Year 2013: One in 4 new cars is Chinese!

The S80 is one of 20 models Chinese manufacturer FAW sells in Uruguay.

* See the Top 54 All-brands ranking by clicking on the title! Thanks Renato *

In 2013, Uruguayan new car sales reach an all-time record for the 4th consecutive year, up 8% on 2012 to 57,333 registrations. Let’s not beat around the bush: the main interest in Uruguay is how amazingly strong Chinese carmakers are here, carving themselves a place in the sun and even impacting the top sellers’ share. Leader Chevrolet has gone from 25% of the market in 2010 to just 15.1% this year, down 13% on 2012, while Volkswagen is down 12% to just 10.7% vs. 13% in 2012. Granted, Fiat (+38%) and Nissan (+11%) seem untouched but who else than Chery do we see pop up in 5th position overall, up 32% on 2012 to 3,364 sales and 5.9% share?

Geely LC Cross. Geely only sold 25 units less than Toyota in Uruguay in 2013.

As a whole, Chinese manufacturers hold a world-best 23.3% market share in Uruguay in 2013 (vs. 19.5% in 2012) thanks to sales up 29% to 13,359 units. This means one in every 4 new cars bought in the country is Chinese, making Uruguay by far the overseas market where the Chinese are the most popular. In fact, out of 54 brands selling at least one unit here in 2013, 26 are Chinese, 21 of them gaining ground on 2012! First Automobile Works (FAW) is up 20% year-on-year to become the 2nd Chinese brand to ever break into the Uruguayan Top 10 at #10 and 3.3%.

Zotye Hunter. Zotye is one of 6 Chinese carmakers to have launched in Uruguay in 2013.

Further down, Geely is up a spectacular 67% to pass Citroen at #13, only 25 units short off beating Toyota (!), BYD up 28% to #15, Great Wall up 7% to #16, DongFeng up 12% to #17, Lifan up a mammoth 158% to #18, JAC up 8% to #20, Haima up 113% to #22, ChangHe doubles its sales to #27 and Gonow is up 15% to #29. And the Chinese offensive is not slowing down: no less than 6 manufacturers make their first appearance in the Uruguayn annual sales in 2013: Zotye (#35), MG (#36), ZNA (#40), JMC (#47), Higer (#49) and BAIC (#53).

Previous post: Uruguay 4 months 2013: Chevrolet down, Chery and FAW up

Full Year 2013 Top 54 All-brands Ranking Table below.