July 14, 2026
Five years ago, almost no one in Latin America bought an electric car. Today, the situation is different: electric cars now make up a meaningful and fast-growing share of new car sales.
The chart shows this trend across several of the region’s largest car markets, alongside the US for comparison.
The data tracks the share of new passenger cars sold that are electric, which includes both fully battery-electric cars and plug-in hybrids.
In five years, Colombia went from nearly zero to 10%, catching up to the US.
In other countries in the region, adoption took off a bit later, but is now rising fast too. Mexico, for example, went from 2% to 7% in a single year (2024–2025).
An important part of this reflects policies. Many Latin American countries, like Colombia, offer tax breaks and other incentives for buying electric cars.