With the close of the first half of the year and given the better-than-expected domestic vehicle sales performance, the Brazilian association of vehicles manufacturers, ANFAVEA, has upwardly revised the projections released in January. The expectation now is that Brazil will surpass the mark of 3 million registered motor vehicles in 2026, a level not reached since 2014. If this projection holds true, growth will stand at 11.7 percent compared with 2025, well above the 2.7 percent forecast at the beginning of the year.
Automotive production in Brazil reached 246,000 units (cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks, and buses) in June, 3 percent less than the 253,500 units of May 2026.
Domestic vehicle sales declined by 0.8 percent to 272,500 units, while exports declined by 1.9 percent to 36,700 units.
But compared with June 2025, June 2026 production increased by 17.2 percent, domestic sales rose by 28.0 percent, and exports declined by 26.7 percent.
When comparing the first six months of 2026 with the same period in 2025, production increased by 8.8 percent to 1.372 million units, domestic sales increased by 18.5 percent to 1.420 million units and exports declined by 21.2 percent to 216,600 units.
ANFAVEA attributes the declining exports to lower demand from Argentina and competition from Chinese vehicles in most of its traditional destinations in Latin America.
