Department of International Cooperation

According to National Automotive Association of Chile, there are about 5.8 million cars in Chile. However, Chile does not manufacture automobiles, so the whole market relies on imports.

There are about 65 brands from over 20 countries for the imported automobiles in the Chilean market. The best-selling brand in 2022 was Chevrolet, with an 8.8% market share. Other popular brands included Toyota (7.8%), Chery (5.8%), Hyundai (5.6%), and Suzuki (5.2%). As for the Chinese brands, the total share was over 25%.

The average number of automobiles sold in Chile every year is about 350 thousand. In 2021, the number climbed to 415 thousand due to several reasons: Chile's recovering economy, the new policy allowing pensions to be withdrawn earlier, and people's preference to drive cars instead of taking the public transportation to avoid Covid-19 infections. As the pandemic eased and the car market continued to grow, the sales hit the highest record of 426 thousand cars being sold in 2022.

In the efforts to deal with climate change, the Chilean government set the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emission by 2050. The eco-friendly car models, such as electric vehicles, become more popular among the car buyers. In 2022, the number of EV sold increased to 6,904, accounting for 1.6% of the automotive market, with an annual growth of 106%. The reasons for such growth included more incentives from the government's green policies, higher environmental awareness among car buyers, and more choices provided by the automobile dealers. Now there are about 95 eco-friendly automobile models on the Chilean market, including 35 EVs and 18 hybrid vehicles.

In order to hit the energy goal by 2050, the Ministry of Energy of Chile updated the National Electromotive Strategy (Estrategia Nacional de Electromovilidad) in early 2022, and it is aimed to complete 100% electric transition of urban public transportation and private automobiles by 2035. The transition for trucks and other carriers will be completed in the following years, and more charging stations will be set up across the country.

Despite of the rapid growth of automobile sales in recent years in Chile, experts predict that such sales will slow down in 2023, yet the market for the EV sector will expand. Although Chile's EV sector is still in the initial blooming stage and the current market share of EVs is relatively little, the Chilean government is making efforts to achieve its energy transition goals by giving subsidies to citizens and installing more charging stations. There is a great potential for the Chilean EV market to grow in the near future.

Sources: Economic Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chile; National Automotive Association of Chile (Asociacion Nacional Automotriz de Chile, ANAC)