A few unfamiliar names for many. For example, the above picture is the Ram 1200, with sales up 126%. It is made in China by Changan, a partner with Stellantis. Below is the Chevrolet Groove, up 24%. It is sourced from SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture, again from China.
Data source: Inegi.
With the models coloured according to the place of origin they are associated with, it makes for a varied pattern. BYD leads the market if no commercial vehicles are included; third if light commercials are added.
Data source: ACAU.
Photos: BYD Uruguay. The Yuan Pro (top) & Seagull (below).
Registrations were up 9% to 69.000, a good result. Better still, it was 40% up the the previous ten year average! 2025 was a record year, beating the previous best of 2024.
Fiat moved into top spot, ending Chevrolet's three year tenure in that cherished ranking. BYD has moved into third and surely has intent on improving on that. Many other Chinese brands are now present here and doing quite well.
It's unusual to see Toyota back at 13th, the lowest place since a poor year it had in 2015. That reflects what a tough market place this is, with a plethora of brands entering the scene and making for a congested and competitive environment.
For passenger car sales from 2024:
Data source: Ascoma.
Photos: Fiat Mobi & Chevrolet Captiva, from Fiat & GM Uruguay.
Nissan took the lead off Chevrolet in 2005 and has not handed it back. The gap between them suggests things won't be changing anytime soon. Between them, they take 30% of total sales which is an impressive haul.
Chinese brands are proliferating with mixed results. MG lost 20% of it's market share and a couple of places in the ranking while Geely has arrived and already making its mark in a positive way. Changan has moved up 11 places in ranking. Chery and Omoda were both well down on 2024, the scope of which was a surprise.
The Indonesian market is subject to import duty to foster local manufacturing and in cases like this understandable. The data below is for all vehicles, and only for those Gaikindo reports. Some brands are missing but of lesser volumes.
Sales for 2025 were down 6% at just under 834,000 units. Put another way, 56,000 fewer sales. 2025 is Added to that, 2025 was 13% down on the average for the last ten years. Now an upsurge in Chinese brands is putting pressure on many more established brands.
Toyota and its sub brand Daihatsu command 47.6% of total sales, down from 51.9% in 2024. Honda retains third spot but its market share is down to 8.5% compared to a 11.6% just a year earlier. With new entrants from China arriving in numbers, it is inevitable that market share will fall for incumbent brands.
BYD only arrived during 2024 but is already up to sixth spot. The same time frame is with Aion (picture above), while Denza (picture below) seems to have just turned up in 2025 and is already making its presence felt. Disruptive times indeed.
Data source: Gaikindo.
The list below is colour coded to show which countries the models are associated. Japan has cream shading and....er that's it. It's a pity other models from offshore cannot make it but such is the dominance of local brands.
The Mitsubishi Delica Mini (photo above) and ek Space are developed along with Nissan (Roox) to save costs. They are Kei cars which are popular in Japan. 1,303,000 were sold in 2025, up a healthy 8%. If I lived in Japan, I'd be tempted.
Photo below: Suzuki (Every Wagon) Japan.
The depth of the data blow is limited by availability but something is better than nothing Imports into Japan are also limited and generally premium in quality. They mainly come from Europe, more specifically, Germany.
The MINI range is classed as one vehicle which happens occasionally but is unfortunately not really accurate. Volvo slipped a couple of models in as Land Rover one. Jeep also had success with the Wrangler.
1,657,000 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were registered in 2025. The total market is up 4% with the modest import total up 17%. The 2025 total is 4% down on the average for the last ten years.
307,400 imports or 19% of all registrations. The Hyundai Group secured 75% of the total! That's what protecting your market can achieve, not that it's needed.
If it were just passenger cars that were being counted, then Kia would be the leader but Hyundai's stronger range of light commercials means the latter takes the lead here.
Hyundai is up slightly and Kia is down by similar proportions. Genesis is at its lowest market share since 2020 but is still a comfortable third. Renault has local manufacturing and it is up while the other two who do also, KG Mobility (Ssangyong) and Chevrolet, are less fortunate.
Of the imports, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are as high as it is prudent to go. Tesla has leapt up the chart to be just behind MB and may be able to increase from here without concern.
There is nothing of note in terms of sudden shifts in sales and rankings apart from BYD, which has arrived with as splash as per usual. Ferrari is now being reported, its 2024 sales figure is an estimate. Some other luxury marques aren't reported at all but the volumes they represent are minuscule.
It will have come of no surprise for most of you that local brands would be dominating the top of the list. All of the top 10 are domestic brand models and even a surging Tesla Y was unable to break into that elite group.
The Renault Grand Koleos is made in Korea at its Busan plant, so only one of the top 18 is an import. The Chevrolet Trax is also a local, manufactured at the company's Changwon plant.
Photos: Kia Sorrento (above) & Hyundai Kasper (below).
Registrations for all vehicles were up 6% for the year. It was suspiciously buoyant in June when volume was up 124% over the equivalent month in 2024, then fell away sharply after that.
The 2025 budget was the reason it seems. It introduced a 30% increase in registration duty for new cars while abolishing it for used ones, which of course boosted the used car market.
Despite a poor end to the year, it still ended in positive territory. In fact, 2025 was up 60% when compared to the average for the previous ten years.
Suzuki is a brand known for value pricing. As the cars surely come from India, then that only adds to the value equation. 27% of the total sales is a clear endorsement of their popularity. Take away commercial vehicles and it reaches 34%.
Data source: NLTA. Pictures: Axess Mauritius.
Registrations were down 4% for the year, just passing 13,000 units. Kia took the lead from Toyota in 2024 and is now well clear of its rival despite a 20% drop in market share It's just as well Toyota didn'y fare much better.
Hyundai has slipped into third albeit by a hair's breadth. VW has dropped two places in the ranking. What didn't help was 2nd to 5th are so close.
Premium marques do quite well here with several in the top 20. I don't want to keep mentioning Chinese brands but they are moving quickly and aggressively. Here, for now at least, they haven't had much impact.
Data source Cystat.
Xiaomi make all sorts of things and in the second quarter of 2024 started delivering cars. It was a large four door fastback named the SU7 (photo above). The SU stands for Speed Ultra and looks like it was heavily influenced by Tesla. Mind you, that could be said of many Chinese cars of this ilk
Deliveries started in Q2 2004, with the company giving definite figures for the first two months, then a general number for the third month. So by using that information, I came up with 25,700 units delivered.
In 2025, 411,837 units found owners based rounded and specific figures. Xiaomi goes from definite to indefinite figures ina random manner. Anyway, the 2025 figure was up 201%.
The arrival of the YU7 SUV (photo below), deliveries were given a real boost. The SU7 came to 258,164 and the YU7 153,673. The latter wasn't a full year either
For now, the emphasis has been on the Chinese market but strong local demand has meant opening up new export markets isn't possible at this stage.
In Q1 2025, the company reportedly lost US$900 on each car delivered. In Q2 it was US$500 and in Q3 a unit profit of US$900 so it is improving. Early losses aren't a surprise for a new venture. Starting out in the car industry is an especially expensive exercise.
Data & picture source: Xiaomi.
Toyota is the largest brand when light commercials are included. Otherwise, it's Suzuki at the top.
Korean brands do well here and Chinese ones are well established. The US is also reasonably well represented.
Pick up trucks are the leading three models and SUVs are also sought after.
Chinese brands major on value and features which obviously strikes a chord with many, especially here.
Durability is a question to be asked, but long warranties alay such fears.
Photo source: GWM (Poer) & Chery (Tiggo 2) Chile.
Data source: ANAC.
